Unnoticed
by Tamaki-Senpai 01
Summary: What happens when Marshall Lee doesn't realize his feelings for Fionna the Human until she is 16 and finally over her crush of Prince Gumball? What if she hadn't met Flame Prince until this point in time? What will happen? Will Marshall submit to those feelings, or keep them bottled up inside? Well, there's only one way to find out. Bet you guys can't figure out the pairing.
1. Chapter 1: Creep

**Chapt****er 1: Creep**

**Fionna's POV**

I look up at the late summer sky. It was its usual blue, with some clouds here and there, and the sun burned my eyes if I looked at it too long, so I end up looking away. I swing my sword around skillfully, and I put it on my shoulder, breathing in the warm air, looking over the rolling hills in front of me. After a day of hard adventuring in Aaa and defeating numerous monsters, I was ready to just relax for a bit. Cake had already gone home and left me to my own devices. Something about getting ready for a date with Mochro. I scoffed and rolled my eyes just thinking about their relationship. Lord Monochromicorn tended to pretend I wasn't really there, which was actually fine by me, I'd prefer that he forgot I was there. And the fact that I couldn't understand what he was saying really annoyed me. But, if Cake was happy with him, then whatever.

Sometimes I wish I had a boyfriend, but then again, relationships seemed to need a lot of maintenance. I was glad that guys weren't fighting over me (or at least as far as she knew none were), I thought it would be stupid. I wasn't anything special anyways. Just a normal 16-year-old girl who loved to adventure all over Aaa with Cake.

Trying to decide whether or not to go to Marshall Lee's house for a jam session, I let my feet take me where they want. I closed my eyes and tilted my face towards the sun, walking in a random direction. The sun felt nice on my skin after fighting the last monster, a slime beast. I almost wanted to go home and take a shower or something, but I decided that I would just jump in the nearest pond and get the slime off. Fortunately, I could see one from where I was. It wasn't terribly late in the day, and at least I had had the foresight to bring an extra pair of clothes in my bag, so I wouldn't have to wait for these to dry. I did a sort-of jog over to the pond, looked around self-consciously (although there was a bit of tree protection, thankfully), dropped my bag a few feet away from the water, took my shoes, socks, and beloved bunny hat off, and hopped in the water. I pulled my shirt off and tossed it out of the water quickly, followed by my skirt. Then I just kind of floated in the water, letting the slime come off as it pleased. I looked up through the canopy of tree leaves and saw the sun peeking at me above the leaves, and I smiled, letting it warm my skin where it got through the foliage.

After about a half hour of this floating and subconscious thinking, I heard the leaves rustle and a twig snap. Quickly getting to the edge of the pond closest to my bag, I called out, "Who's there?", only to be answered by silence. After about another minute of silence, I relaxed. 'Probably just an innocent animal,' I tell myself calmly. I dive under the water again, shaking out my hair underwater, and surface again. Getting out of the water, I attempted to dry off a little bit, and when I wasn't completely soaked, I put on my extra clothes, and pulled on my worn-out shoes again. I pick up my bunny-eared hat, stuff my hair in, and get it over my head. I think about leaving my slime-covered clothes behind, but decide against it and pick them up with a sigh. After hearing more rustling and a loud crunch, I couldn't quite shake the feeling that I was being watched as I walked away quickly towards Marshall Lee's house.

When I finally got there, the sun was making its way down the sky. I walked up to Marshall's porch and knocked loudly, tossing my slimed clothes over the side of the porch, resolving to pick them up when I was leaving. I waited for a minute, and after no reply, I decided to just walk in. Not like I'd never done it before.

I put my bag down by his couch and go straight to the kitchen, thirsty. I open his fridge and was disappointed that there was only strawberries, apples, and cherries in there. I growl quietly under my breath. 'He has to drink something, doesn't he?' I wondered. 'He only eats the color red, he doesn't drink it, right?' I pondered on this for a minute before shutting the fridge with frustrated finality. When I turn around, I am somewhat startled to see Marshall Lee right there, inches away. His hair was a mess, so he must've just woken up. He was also only in his boxers, so that definitely seemed to prove my point.

"What's up, Fi?" he asked with a loud yawn.

"Oh, nothing, just stopping by. Did you just wake up?" I ask with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I did. But I heard someone down here in my fridge, so I decided it was time to make an appearance," he says with another yawn.

"Some appearance," I mutter under my breath and then laugh. "You look like a chicken nested up there."

That opens his eyes a little bit more, and he gives me an 'oh, shut up,' look before stomping upstairs childishly. When he comes back down, now fully dressed with his hair combed through, I am sitting in front of his couch, fiddling with a random toy in my hands. When I see him come down, I put it back in my bag. "Whatcha wanna do?" I asks lazily.

"Not sure, still tired," he mumbles. He floats over and punches my shoulder lightly. "Give me a minute to wake up, Bunny," he teases.

I return the light punch to his stomach and mutter, "Fine," before I put my head back on his couch tiredly.

"Big day of adventuring?" he questions with a smirk.

"Yes. What did you do, sleep all day?" I retort.

"Yep, pretty much, wrote a few songs for Gumbutt's ball tomorrow early this morning, but other than that, you're dead on, Bunny," he chuckles, playing with one of my bunny ears while he speaks.

I make a sound of contentment and close my eyes for a minute. 'Why do people always like playing with my bunny ears?' I wonder. "Wanna watch a movie?" I question.

He rolls his head lazily towards me, giving me a once-over, and gives me a look that suggests he decided I won't be able to do anything else anyways. "Sure, why not, Bunny?" He gets up and floats towards the stairs. "Whatcha wanna watch?"

"I don't even care right now," I reply with a slight scowl. He chuckles at me and floats upstairs, returning a minute later with a movie in his hand. "What's that?"

* * *

**Marshall's POV**

"One with tons of adventure and junk," I tell her with a grin.

"Mathematical," she says with a tired smile. She looks at the cover when I hand it to her after I get the movie out and start it. "Pirates of the Caribbean?" she questions.

"You'll love it," I tell her with a chuckle, flicking the lights out. Fionna twitches around and gives up, flipping over on her stomach facing the TV. I try not to look down and focus on the movie, but really, the girl needs to get longer skirts. I sigh inwardly and float over to the kitchen to get some strawberries and cherries to distract myself. "Do you want anything?" I call to Fionna quietly, not wanting to disturb her movie-watching.

It takes me a minute to catch her small reply, but I hear a quiet, "Popcorn?" and set to making some quickly. I come back out a minute later with two bowls in my hands, putting the popcorn in front of her and taking the red fruit for myself. I float lazily over the couch, with my head turned towards the TV, sucking the red out of the fruit. Fionna looks like she's completely sucked into the movie, eating popcorn absently. I chuckle and return to the movie. A little while later, Fionna yawns and says, "I know this sounds kinda weird, but Captain Jack Sparrow is cute."

I look at her, chuckling, and say, "Oh, so you like the older men, do you?" with a teasing look.

She flushes and looks back at me. "Well, it depends on how they act. He's pretty funny, and he's always drunk, but he certainly knows how to fight.

'I wonder if she ever thinks that I'm cute...' I ponder it for a second and then facepalm quietly. 'What are you thinking, it doesn't matter in any case, you idiot. It's not like you like her like that, right?' I sigh, and it must've been out loud because Fi looks back at me with a questioning look. I shake my head and smirk at her, and she turns her attention back to the movie. I continue eating my strawberries and cherries, and when I'm full, I go to the kitchen and return the ones that are still red to the bowl in the fridge and drop the bowl with all the gray husks in them next to Fi. Apparently they taste pretty much the same without their color. She smiles at me, and I float back over to the couch, sighing happily. The movie is nearly over when I notice that Fi is looking pretty tired, and she's pretty much out. I float over and pick her up so she doesn't get an ache when she wakes up.

She rolls closer to me and curls up with a tired mewl. "Wuh are you doin?" she slurs.

I chuckle quietly and say, "I'm saving you from pain later." I carry her upstairs and hand her a shirt to change into, it can't be comfortable to sleep in that skirt. I walk out of the room for a minute to let her change, and walk back in to tuck her in, then go to walk out again.

She opens her bleary eyes. "Where are you going?"

I blink at her in surprise. "I'm gonna go downstairs and let you sleep, Bunny. Why?"

"Dun go anywhere," she mumbles sleepily. I deliberate for a minute and sigh silently. I grab the chair from the corner of my room and slide it a little bit closer to the bed. When I go to sit down, she shakes her head and tells me to come closer. So I slide it closer, but it's still not enough for her. I put it as close to the bed as possible, and she smiles.

"Better, Bunny?" I croon. She nods, and I lean forward and kiss her forehead. "Go to sleep now, Bunny." I lean back and sing quietly, hoping she'll be out of it soon. When I hear her snore very lightly, I chuckle quietly and slip out of the room. I decide to go ahead and clean up the living room, so I take her empty popcorn bowl and the nearly-empty bowl of fruit to the kitchen, and flick a light on. I dump what's left of the fruit out the nearest window and put both of the bowls in the sink, deciding to clean them later. I go to the living room, stop the movie, and put it back in its case, leaving it on the coffee table afterwards.

I grab my axe bass and go outside, where a slightly cool breeze has picked up. I look at the moon from inside my cave and smile. Then I start strumming my bass and humming along without a point to it. It was just nice to feel the breeze after being stuffed in the house. Normally, I'd be all over Aaa, causing trouble and pulling pranks on Gumbutt and freaking out Cake, but for some reason I wanted to stay close to home. I wasn't really sure why, but I didn't linger on it, not really caring. After a while, I decided to write some more songs for Gumbutt's ball tomorrow. After all, I was the only entertainment. I played around with the beat until I got it right, and started singing quietly.

_When you were here before_

_Couldn't look you in the eye_

_You're just like an angel_

_Your skin makes me cry_

_You float like a feather_

_In a beautiful world_

_I wish I was special_

_You're so fucking special_

_But I'm a creep_

_I'm a weirdo_

_What the hell am I doing here?_

_I don't belong here_

_I don't care if it hurts_

_I want to have control_

_I want a perfect body_

_I want a perfect soul_

_I want you to notice when I'm not around_

_You're so fucking special_

_I wish I was special_

_But I'm a creep_

_I'm a weirdo_

_What the hell I'm doing here?_

_I don't belong here_

_She's running out the door_

_She's running out_

_She runs runs runs runs_

_Runs_

_Runs_

_Whatever makes you happy_

_Whatever you want_

_You're fucking special_

_I wish I was special_

_But I'm a creep_

_I'm a weirdo_

_What the hell am I doing here?_

_I don't belong here_

_I don't belong here_

I paused and thought about what the hell I just sang. Where did those words come from? The next thing I do surprises me as well. I snap my attention to my room, praying to glob that Fi didn't just hear that. Then I thought about that. Why the hell did I care if she'd heard me sing? She'd heard me sing a thousand times before. What the hell is going on? I go inside and quickly write the lyrics down and read over them, and then facepalm myself so hard I have to take a step back and shake my hand. Ouch. I read over them again, and wonder, why am I writing this? I don't feel like this towards anyone. ... Do I? I think about it for a while, and all of a sudden, my mind just flips itself over and starts thinking about Fi. Fionna, Fionna, Fionna, over and over and over again in my head. I'm so shocked about this sudden realization that all I can do is sit there and think some more.

What the hell?

I don't even realize that I've been sitting here literally all night thinking about this until I notice the sun out of the corner of my eye.

WHAT THE HELL?!

I never told the sun it could rise! What is it doing?! I'm frantically floating all over my living room, trying to figure this out. 'There's no way I'm in love with Fi.' That is not a logical thought. She's a human, so soft, so fragile, so innocent, so pure...

And hopelessly mortal.

Where did this come from? How could I fall in love with her, or even develop a slight crush on her, without my own consent? When did this happen? Have I actually been crushing on her up until this point, not even realizing it?

These things are running through my mind so loudly that I don't even notice Fi come downstairs until she punches me in the shoulder from behind. I literally jump and yelp. I turn around slowly, and she's looking at me, wide-eyed. "Are you okay, Marsh? You were kinda curled up in this corner when I came downstairs, and you didn't say anything, even though I was saying your name for literally two minutes. I tapped you on the shoulder and you still didn't reply. I'm surprised you even turned around when I punched you..." She pauses and looks at me, and I must've had a strange expression on, because her eyes widened even more and she asks, "What's wrong?"

I attempt to clear my throat, but it's surprisingly dry, so I float quickly to the kitchen and get a cup of water to help. She follows me quietly with a worried expression. I cough a couple times and look at her. "Yeah, I'm fine." I clear my throat again, not trusting my voice. "When did you wake up? Sorry I scared you."

"A few minutes ago..." She pauses and looks at me. "Are you sure you're okay? You looked like you were terrified or something."

I sputter indignantly and laugh. "Me? Terrified? Not in a thousand years."

Fi rolls her eyes at me. "Okay, fine. I probably should get going, Cake will be worried about me since I didn't go home last night..."

"Ah, okay, Fi. Might wanna change though," I say with a smirk.

She looks down. "When did this happen?"

I cock my head to the side slightly. "Last night, Bunny. I took you upstairs and let you change, because it can't be too comfortable sleeping in those clothes you wear all day."

"Oh," is all she replies before she goes back upstairs to change and rushes down a minute later, dressed normally. She grabs her bag and throws a smile over her shoulder before walking out the door quickly with a quick, "Bye Marsh!" and then she grabs something off the side of my porch, and she's gone.

'How is all this possible?' My brain demands. 'I don't even know,' I reply stupidly before grabbing my bass to make some more music for the ball tonight.


	2. Chapter 2: The Ball

**Chapter 2: The Ball**

**Marshall's POV**

"Fionna!" I called. "Where are you?" I was running (yeah, that's right, I was running, not floating for once) through the dark forest, searching for a hint of her golden blonde hair, or the faintest sound of her voice.

All I found was nothing. I kept running until eventually I was so exhausted I was stumbling and tripped over something on the ground. 'Dammit! Why can't I float?!' I thought angrily. Every time I tried, nothing happened. I stand back up, brush myself off, and look around. That's when I noticed for the first time that I was surrounded. Or, at the very least, being followed by a large group. They were in the bushes, up in the trees, even under my feet. Thousands of pairs of red eyes, watching me. Every time I took a single step, they followed the movement and copied it. I was looking at a peculiar looking pair of eyes, one pair that stood out for some reason.

As I was watching them, they suddenly turned a bright gold, and then calmed down to a piercing emerald. "What the hell?" I asked, but my voice was muted. A quiet breeze floating through the leaves would've been louder. I stopped looking at the eyes and saw ahead what I'd been looking for the entire time. "Fionna!" I called in relief, but she didn't turn, and I noticed for the second time that my voice was still non-existent, although it felt like I had been screaming. I tried again and again, but nothing was working. I looked around frantically, trying to command my feet to move, but they wouldn't.

I heard a shrill scream, and Fionna was gone. "FI!" I called desperately, but she was gone. I felt my eyes started to itch a little bit the more I got frustrated and panicked, and when I went to rub at them, still unable to move my feet even an inch, I noticed I was shrinking. The red and one pair of green eyes watched intensely, with widening grins.

"The end is coming, Vampire King," they called in unison.

I shot straight up in my bed, panting. I was shivering, whether it was from the dream or the cold sweat I was soaked in. I shook my head and stood up shakily. 'It was just a dream. Fi's fine, you idiot. Calm down.' I told myself severely. If my heart had still been beating, I'm sure it would be pounding. Something inside me was pulsing feverishly, but I wasn't sure what it was. I ran a hand through my hair with an unsteady chuckle, and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

Over the next hour, my brain was chewing over my dream. 'Who were those people? What did they want? What did Fi have to do with it? Why was there one pair of strangely familiar emerald eyes there?' my head demanded. 'Why do you keep asking those questions? It's not like I have the answer,' I told myself, irritated. I went to my closet and decided on a simple outfit, black pants, a white shirt with a black jacket, and a red bow tie. I put it on and looked down, wondering how I looked. "It'll have to do," I sighed. I grabbed the songs I had written the night before and shoved them in a folder next to my bass. The sun wasn't set yet, and I didn't feel like taking my stupid umbrella with me, so I lounged over my couch, sucking the red slowly out of an apple.

When the apple obviously wasn't going to give me any more red, I sighed and tossed it in the trash, then grabbed my bass and started strumming quietly, humming along with it. I stopped numerous times to glare at the setting sun, willing it to go faster. That only seemed to slow it down, but when it was pretty much down I couldn't take it anymore. I put my bass on over my shoulder and grabbed the folder, and shot out of my house and the cave altogether, thankful to be free.

* * *

**Fionna's POV**

"Cake, do I really have to wear this?" I whined.

"Of course you do! It's a ball! You gotta be all fancy!" she cried.

I sighed. "I don't like feeling all girly like this."

Cake gives me an incredulous look. "Well you know what? You can just deal with it, because there's no way you're going to that ball without being dressed up all girly like. Now take off that old hat."

I hold onto the ears of my hat and stare at her. "No way."

Then we struggle back and forth until she manages to get my hat off, and I glare at her. "It has to be done, sugar. Don't worry, I've got something so you'll still be a bunny," she chuckles.

I cross my arms and pout, turning around on my stool and glare out the window. "Fine, just don't make me look even more ridiculous. Everyone's going to laugh at me."

I can both see and feel Cake glaring at the window so I can see her reflection. "If anyone even thinks about laughing at you, I'll claw their faces off."

"Aww, thanks, Cake," I say with a laugh.

"No problem, babycakes. Now, don't move an inch, I gotta go get a few more pins," she says, running upstairs quickly.

The sun is halfway down. Gumball's ball starts at 8, so we have about another hour and a half before it starts. At least we aren't running late like usual...

Cake comes back downstairs with some more stuff, and she sets to work on finishing my hair. When she seems satisfied (about a half hour later), she puts on a little bit of makeup, and then she turns me towards a mirror so I can see myself better.

I have to admit, while I don't like the idea of wearing a dress, I don't look half bad. It's a pretty simple dress, floor length, white with golden rings here and there, and a light blue neckline. It puffs out more than I'd like at the bottom, but I like it nonetheless. My hair is done up in an elaborate braided bun, with twin bunny-eared pins on the sides. The pins also have pretty ribbons that trail down to connect with my long blonde hair. My makeup is pretty simple, just some eyeliner and a very light blue eyeshadow. Good thing she didn't put on blush, I'm going to be doing plenty of that tonight. I stare silently at the mirror before Cake obviously can't contain herself anymore and demands, "WELL?! WHAT DO YOU THINK?!" she's grinning widely, clearly pleased with her work.

I manage a small smile and say, "I love it, Cake. You're the best." I hug her afterwards and grab the pretty ribbon she had set aside for herself and put it around her neck, attaching a pretty flower to it as well. "We look great."

She's trying to hold back tears of joy, but she can't exactly do that and a couple slip through. I hug her and she chokes out, "We really do. You especially."

After we're completely ready, we head out for the Candy Kingdom. The sun is quickly sinking, so Cake lets me get on her back (very carefully), and she sets out with a light jog. We get there about a half hour later, and we're content with ourselves for finally getting to a ball on time. When we get to the top of the steps, I hesitate to go in. "You coming?" she asks.

"Yeah, in a minute," I tell her. "Go on ahead and find Mochro."

Her tails frizzes excitedly and she grins at me before going inside. I sigh and prepare myself to go in. No doubt everyone's gonna stare at me when I walk in. Shaking my head slightly, I prepare myself and walk right in.

Yep, I was right, everyone's staring. I feel my cheeks heat up quickly and I walk away quickly to find someone I actually know. After looking around for a bit (with everyone's eyes following), I realize the only people I've seen so far that I actually know are Gumball- who was busy chatting with some girl, but still smiled and waved in my direction- and Cake. I wonder if Marshall was gonna be here. He usually comes to these things as the entertainment. I chuckle and remember that he's usually late, so I try to calm myself down instead of freaking out. Going to the food table, I nibble on something sweet and wait for him to show up.

Fortunately, I don't have to wait long before I notice him float in a nearby window. I attempt to get his attention by waving, but he doesn't see me, so I walk towards him and punch him lightly on the shoulder from behind.

* * *

**Marshall's POV**

Turns out I wasn't as early as I had predicted, the ball was pretty much in full swing by the time I got there. All they needed now was the music. I floated in a window and looked around for a minute, hoping to see a certain familiar face, but I didn't see her, so I floated towards the stage when someone punched my shoulder from behind. I turned around and automatically froze when I saw Fi. She was wearing a dress (Cake always made her wear one to Gumbutt's balls, but I hadn't noticed how great she looked in them until just like five seconds ago), and her hair was done up in a bun with little bunny eared pins on the sides. I shook myself slightly and grinned at her. "What's up, Fi?" I asked, sounding slightly out of breath.

"Oh, nothing much, just waiting for you to show up," she told me. I felt a little thrill at that, but I wasn't really sure why. "I don't really know anyone here besides Cake and Gumball," she said with a frown, looking around at the candy people dancing. "I wonder where all the princes are tonight, I haven't even seen LSP, and he's always at these parties."

I chuckled at her. "They're probably still at home getting their dresses and makeup done," I said, grinning.

"Oh, probably," she laughed with me. "Are you playing tonight?"

"Well duh, Gummyballs can't get anyone else to sing for these idiots."

"Oh, he probably could, you're just the best in Aaa."

I looked at her with a grin. She thought I was the best? That's awesome. "Maybe he has a deep down crush on me," I joked. "He can't stand to have anyone else here to play besides me."

"Oooh, now that I think about it, I've seen him looking at you with a flirty expression before," she chuckled. "Maybe he's just waiting to make his move," she said, nudging me playfully.

"Oh, definitely."

She laughed again, and I found myself smiling at the sound. "You better get up there and play some music before he comes over here and starts flirting with you," she told me with a teasingly worried look.

"Before who starts flirting with him?"

I turned around and saw none other than the prince of pink himself. "Looks like you spoke too soon, Fi," I mutter and laugh out loud. "Come over here to flirt with me, Gumbutt?" I ask, making a kissy face and laughing again.

"As if I would do something so degrading and ridiculous," Gumbutt replied with an indignant sniff. He turned back to Fi. "I was wondering how you were enjoying the ball, Fionna."

She looks away with a slight blush on her cheeks. "It's great, PG. I love these... things," she says, holding something up from the food table.

"Oh, the strawberry shortcakes? I made them myself," he says, looking proud.

I let out a stifled chuckle, and Gummyballs looks at me with an irritated glare. "Shouldn't you be on stage?" he questions. "You were late, like usual."

I give him an exaggerated bow. "Oh, I'm so sorry, your highness," I sneer. "I hadn't realized I was running on your schedule. I have other stuff to do, you know." I look over at Fi, smiling. "Friends to talk to, music to write, red to suck." I take her strawberry shortcake and suck the red out of the middle of it. "Hmm, not bad." I give it back to her, and she rolls her eyes with a smile and a blush on her cheeks again.

"Go sing, Marshy, I've been waiting for it," she tells me.

I had forgotten about Gumbutt when he interrupts us with a peeved cough. I turn to glare at him. "Fine, Fi, I'll go sing." I float off towards the stage and get out a song. The crowd starts getting excited. You can hear "Oh, look, it's Marshall!" and "About time!" flowing through the enthusiastic audience.

I sigh and grab a mic, then announce, "Hey everyone! I'm here, so let's get this thing started, shall we?"

The crowd cheers deafeningly, and I look over to see Fi screaming with them. I smile and start strumming my bass.

I've been singing onstage for a while now, but I think it's about time I started singing one of the songs I made last night. I pull one out and start strumming it.

_Look around_

_There's no one but you and me_

_Right here and now_

_The way it was meant to be_

_There's a smile on my face_

_Knowing that together everything that's in our way_

_We're better than alright_

_Walking between the raindrops_

_Riding the aftershock beside you_

_Off into the sunset_

_Living like there's nothing left to lose_

_Chasing after gold mines_

_Crossing the fine lines we knew_

_Hold on and take a breath_

_I'll be here every step_

_Walking between the raindrops with you_

_Still singing, I look over at Fi, and she's smiling gently, blushing slightly. I don't know if she knows the complete meaning behind the song, but the way she's smiling makes me feel like I'm flying._

_Take me now_

_The world's such a crazy place_

_When the walls come down_

_You'll know I'm here to stay_

_There's nothing I would change_

_Knowing that together everything that's in our way_

_We're better than alright_

_Walking between the raindrops_

_Riding the aftershock beside you_

_Off into the sunset_

_Living like there's nothing left to lose_

_Chasing after gold mines_

_Crossing the fine lines we knew_

_Hold on and take a breath_

_I'll be here every step_

_Walking between the raindrops with you_

_There's a smile on my face_

_Knowing that together everything that's in our way_

_We're better than alright_

_Walking between the raindrops_

_Riding the aftershock beside you_

_Off into the sunset_

_Living like there's nothing left to lose_

_Chasing after gold mines_

_Crossing the fine lines we knew_

_Hold on and take a breath_

_I'll be here every step_

_Walking between the raindrops with you_

_Between the raindrops with you_

_Between the raindrops with you_

_Between the raindrops with you_

Ending the song, I continue looking at Fi, and it looks like she's trying to tell me something, but there's no way I can hear her over the crowd. I give her the 'what?!' face, and she sighs, knowing I can't hear her. I blink twice, and knowing I'm not done singing yet, decide on another song and start strumming my bass to its tune.

_Do you hear me,_

_I'm talking to you_

_Across the water across the deep blue ocean_

_Under the open sky, oh my, baby I'm trying_

_Boy I hear you in my dreams_

_I feel your whisper across the sea_

_I keep you with me in my heart_

_You make it easier when life gets hard_

_I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend_

_Lucky to have been where I have been_

_Lucky to be coming home again_

_Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh_

_While I'm singing, I look over at Fi, and she's looking at me like she's really listening to the song and understands what it means. It brings a smile to my face, and I laugh inwardly, continuing the song._

_They don't know how long it takes_

_Waiting for a love like this_

_Every time we say goodbye_

_I wish we had one more kiss_

_I'll wait for you I promise you, I will_

_Lucky we're in love in every way_

_Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed_

_Lucky to be coming home someday_

_And so I'm sailing through the sea_

_To an island where we'll meet_

_You'll hear the music fill the air_

_I'll put a flower in your hair_

_Though the breezes through the trees_

_Move so pretty you're all I see_

_As the world keeps spinning round_

_You hold me right here right now_

_I'm lucky we're in love in every way_

_Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed_

_Lucky to be coming home someday_

_Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh_

_Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh_

When the song's over, I tell the audience I'm taking a little break, swing my bass onto my back and grab my folder. Someone else takes my place to sing for a minute. 'Hopefully they have a good taste in music,' I think as I work my way over to where I last saw Fi. She waves at me, back over at the food table. I chuckle and go over, picking up some strawberries from a bowl on my way over. "Hey, Fi."

She smiles. "Hey. Having fun up there? You certainly looked happy to be up there."

"Yeah, it's not so bad. How about you? Enjoying the ball?"

"Eh, it's not so bad," she says with a grin.

"Did the princes ever show up?" I wonder.

"Yeah, they did," she says, looking somewhat distracted.

"Dance with anyone hot?" I joke, and even though I look calm on the outside, the thought of it infuriates me for some reason.

She blushes hard and gives me a dubious look. "No! Glob..." she must've thought of something, because she blushes even more.

"See anyone hot? Glob, Fi, you're blushing redder than a tomato," I say with a slightly twisted expression. Fi's blush looked delicious, and tomatoes were the worst thing ever. Why even try to compare the two?

She looks down with a small, "No.." and I grin.

"Sure you didn't Fi, sure you didn't." A familiar song comes on, and I look down at her. "Wanna dance?"

She pauses to listen to the song, and nods. "Sounds mathematical dude, but I'm a horrible dancer."

"Don't worry, I won't let you hit your face on the floor, I'm not too bad at dancing," I tell her somewhat proudly. I grab her hand and pull her towards the crowd, then turn and face her, one hand on her waist and the other still holding her hand.

Her blush makes a reappearance as she puts one hand on my back and we start to sway side to side. "Have you danced at all tonight? You look fantastic," I whisper to her.

She looks down, embarrassed. "Thanks. I haven't done much besides eat and listen to you sing. I loved the last two songs you sang. Did you make them?"

Looks like it's my turn to be kinda embarrassed. I borrow the hand that's holding hers and run it through my hair with a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, I did." I take her hand again, and we resume our dancing. I twirl her around.

"They were great," she says.

I dipped her low to the floor and brought her back up. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she says quietly, resting her cheek on my chest. I put my own cheek on her head carefully so I don't mess up her hair and close my eyes with a smile. We continue to sway back and forth.

Of course, the moment had to be ruined when the song ended and Gummyballs came over, asking Fi if she wanted to dance. We separate, and she gives me an apologetic glance before going to dance with him. I sigh and go back over to the food table, picking at some strawberries. When they were gray, I just tossed them out the window. Eventually, I decided it was probably time for me to get back on stage, but I didn't feel like moving just yet. I picked up the whole bowl of strawberries (screw everyone else's needs, singers need food) and headed towards the nearest balcony. I passed Gumbutt on the way and he glared at me when he saw the bowl of strawberries, but I shrugged.

When I got outside, I breathed in the cool night air and put the bowl precariously on the edge of the balcony, then jumped up to sit on it next to them. I went back to sucking the red out of them and proceeded to throw them at the people walking underneath the balcony. Some of them yelled at me, but I shrugged and threw another at them. After a while, people got the hint and kept their distance from my balcony. After a little while, I just started throwing the gray husks back in the bowl since it was pretty empty anyways, and I felt satisfied.

Someone came up and hugged me from behind, and I could feel that it was a girl, considering whoever it was (pretty sure it was Fi) was pressing their boobs up against my back. I turned around, and sure enough it was Fi. "Whatcha doin?" I asked her.

"Oh, nothing. Just getting some fresh air," she said. "I noticed you weren't inside and the strawberries were missing, so I figured you had come outside." She picked up one of the gray strawberries and ate it as she spoke.

"Looks like you figured correctly," I chuckled.

"Yeah. There was some flame guy in there, and it was getting waaay too hot, so it feels pretty nice out here."

"Flame guy?"

"Yeah. I think he might've been a prince or something because he had a crown on."

"Huh," I said. "I wonder what it's like to be made of fire."

"Probably pretty hot," she said with a chuckle.

"That was horrible," I told her judgmentally, then laughed.

"I figured it would be, but at least it's not as bad as PG's sense of humor," she said, wrinkling her nose up in disgust.

"You could say that again," I said, shaking my head. "It's almost sad."

"Seriously," she said, looking up at the dark sky. "I thought I was never going to get away. He kept telling horrible jokes and laughing at them since no one else would. He thought he could be a stand-up comedian," she says, looking over at me disbelievingly.

"You poor thing," I said, putting an arm around her shoulder. "How about when this whole thing is over, I take you home so you can change, and then we can do something fun?"

She pretends to think over it, but I already knew the answer. "Sounds mathematical, dude. Balls so aren't my type of thing."

"Me either," I say.

She looks over at me and says, "Oh, really? I never would've guessed," so sarcastically it almost hurt. I chuckle along with her giggles, a low and high melody mixing together somewhat awkwardly.

I lean over and start playing with a loose piece of her hair, twisting it around. "I love these bunny-ear pins, by the way."

She looks up at the sky again. "I do, too. Cake wouldn't let me wear my hat, so this was the compromise."

"I think it's a pretty good compromise," I whisper in her ear. She blushes.

"Stop it dude, that tickles," she says, rolling her shoulder up to cover her ear. I float around her playfully, and she watches me with wide eyes.

"You look like a terrified little bunny," I tell her, playing with her hair again. "Wanna go back inside? I have to sing again for like another half hour. I was supposed to go back in there a while ago, but I didn't really feel like it."

She gives me this look that cried 'Hell no!', and I laugh. "Me either. Let's just get this over with so we can go do something fun."

She pouts, and I put my arm around her shoulder with a chuckle. "Come on, we can prank Gumbutt if you want." She grins at this, and I laugh. "Wanna put wolves in his room again?" I whisper in her ear.

"Stop it, dude!" she says, flailing for a second before she punches me in the shoulder.

"Fine, Fi. We'll go do something once this horrible ball is over."

She looks at me as if something just occurred to her, and she asks, "Why don't we just leave now?"

I think about it for a second. "Well, Cake won't like it if I just take off with you, and besides, it's not going to last much longer. Might as well party in that dress of yours for just a little longer."

She sighs. "Okay, dude."

I float back towards the stage just as the guy is finishing his song, and he walks offstage, clearly tired from his efforts. I swing my bass around and start playing it, entertaining the crowd for the last stretch of the ball.

After I'm done, it's about 1 in the morning, and everyone seems pretty tired. I float over the crowd with my bass and folder, searching for Fi. She's standing near Gumbutt, looking frustrated. He must be telling jokes again. I go over to her and land. "C'mon, Fi, let's go," I say, cutting off Gummyballs in the middle of his sentence. I take her hand, and pull her towards the balcony I was at earlier. I get outside, and go to pick her up when Gumbutt comes out behind me, looking flustered.

"I can't believe you can be so rude, Marshall Lee!" he says. "I was talking to Fionna!"

She sighs quietly, and I chuckle. "Well, the ball's over, and I have a promise to keep." I pick Fi up then, and Gumbutt looks at me, disbelieving.

"What does she have to do with it?" he demands.

"Well, we're going to go do something that's more fun than this ball. Let's go, Fi."

Gumbutt comes over and grabs my foot as I'm floating off. Fi looks down at him. "What the hell are you doing, PG?"

"I wasn't done talking to you!" he exclaims. I try to shake him off, but he won't come loose, surprisingly. I go back towards the balcony, and he drops. Fi rolls her eyes at him and hops down as well. I look at the bowl that used to have the strawberries in it, still balancing dangerously on the ledge of the balcony. He sees my grin, and follows my eyes. "What is that bowl doing out here?" he demands, looking somewhat angry.

I shrug and grin wider. "I was hungry. Hope you don't mind, Gumbutt."

"Of course I mind!" he cries loudly, sounding as shrill as the Ice Queen when she cackles. "It's crystal!"

Fi looks away, clearly laughing. I laugh loudly. "Clearly, I do not care. It's a strawberry bowl to me. If it's so special, maybe you shouldn't use them at your balls. Fi, are you ready to go? I'd rather not have to stay around this pink princess."

Gumbutt looks like he's getting madder by the second, and really it's just entertaining for me. "I suppose I'll have to talk to you later, Fionna." He takes her hand and kisses it. I clench both of my hands into fists, shaking angrily. "Until next time." He starts to walk inside, so I quickly pick up Fi, floating away from the balcony. Just when he's nearly inside, I chuckle darkly and my foot 'accidentally' taps the bowl, sending it flying over the edge. Fi rolls her eyes and laughs with me when Gumbutt shrieks "MARSHALL LEE!" and runs over to the edge of the balcony, peering over the edge at the shattered bowl.

"You're so mean sometimes, Marshall," Fi tells me.

"You just noticed?" I say with an innocent smile.

"Definitely not." We get to her house sooner than expected, and I land in front of the door, letting her down. "Thanks," she says.

"No problem," I say, grinning. She opens the door and automatically goes up the stairs. Beemo is sitting on the coffee table.

"Hi Marshall!" Beemo says.

"Hiya, Beemo. Whatcha doin'?"

"I am hoping that Cake will be home soon. I got a new game she will love to play."

I nod. "When she gets home, let her know that Fionna and I are going to go do some stuff."

The little computer gets a very skeptical look. "Stuff?"

"Yeah, you know, the usual; run with wolves, defeat a monster, maybe something else if she's not too tired."

Beemo nods. "Okay. I will tell her."

Fi comes running downstairs then, grabbing an umbrella. "Umbrella?" I question.

"In case we're out too late."

"Oh," is all I can think to say. "See ya later, Beemo!" I call.

I hear a little, "Okay!" and Fi and I head out the door.

I pull my bass around so it's in front of me, and I float along lazily next to Fi, strumming it quietly. She hums along with the tune, smiling at the dark sky. We keep walking like this until I can see the grasslands in front of us. I put my bass behind me and fold my arms behind my head. She looks up at me. "What do you want to do?" I ask.

"Hmm... Let's go on an adventure," she tells me.

* * *

**A/N: So yeah, here's chapter 2. I know the songs are probably... Well.. Mushy-ish, butcha know. I love Fiolee, and I think it's adorable when Marshall sings to Fi. The songs I used are Between the Raindrops by Lifehouse and Natasha Bedingfield, and Lucky by Jason Mraz and Colbie Calliat. I'll be updating this later, so keep an eye on it! :D**


	3. Chapter 3: Trepidation

**Chapter 3: Trepidation**

**Marshall's POV**

After we were done adventuring, the sky was turning rosy with dawn. Fi and I were a little beat up (mainly her), but it wasn't anything we couldn't handle. After slaying a giant slime beast-although I'm not sure what it was doing way over here-, we went and ran with some wolves, howled at the moon for a bit, and after that, we just went and relaxed under the stars. Fi had fallen asleep for a bit at that time, and I don't really blame her. It had been a long day after all. I was going to let her sleep some more, but as soon as I made one move to get up and stretch, she was wide awake. I guess she'd have to be a light sleeper to be an adventurer. We sat there for a little while and when she actually woke all the way up, we headed to her awesome tree house. I had always liked the place. We were nearly there now, thankfully.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'd rather not walk around with burns all over me.

I was planning on borrowing one of her umbrellas to get home, so as soon as we got there and she opened the door, I grabbed the closest one, which just so happened to be red. She looked at me. "What are you doing?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Going home, Bunny. You look like you could pass out any second."

She shook her head. "You don't have to go home, Marshall. You can sleep here if you want."

I gave her a skeptical look. "I don't know if you'd noticed, but there are a lot of windows in here. I'd like to be burn free, if you don't mind."

She grabbed my wrist and pulled me upstairs. "That's why you can sleep in my bed. If you sleep under the pelts on my bed, you won't get burned."

My face like it was burning at the idea of sleeping in Fi's bed. "I can't take your bed from you, Fi."

She laughed. "Cake will be home soon anyways. I gotta go take care of some stuff with her. I got some sleep earlier, too."

"Yeah, but not enough for you to be running around all day again."

She shoved me towards her bed. "Go to sleep, Marshall Lee."

Just as I was falling, I grabbed her by the waist and took her down with me. "No way, Fi. You're going to sleep, too."

I could feel the heat from her blush where I was. I chuckled in her ear and she struggled to get away. "Not funny, Marshall."

"Oh, come on, Fi. You know you want to." I tightened my arms around her, and she stopped struggling.

"Marshall..." she mumbled. She got her arms out of my grasp and rubbed her eyes tiredly. Then she curled into herself, snuggling up against me. I blinked rapidly. I can't believe she was actually going to allow this. I hadn't planned this.

Oh, what the hell.

I curled around her protectively, sighing. She was already out. "Night, Bunny."

I woke up not much longer later to the sound of furious hissing. I slowly opened my eyes, blinking tiredly. Cake was standing in the doorway to her and Fi's room, her hair frizzed out, ears flat, snarls flowing non-stop from her throat, and her claws sticking waaay out. I smiled tauntingly at her and then look at Fi.

Still asleep.

I sighed and snuggled into her shoulder tiredly, wanting to sleep more no matter what. She giggled quietly, and flicked me in the nose. "Stop it," she whispered quietly in her sleep. I let go of her, and Cake was over in a split second, her eyes zeroing in on the tiny space between me and Fi. I looked up at her and chuckled, then slowly moved my arms away from Fi and got out of her bed on the opposite side so I wouldn't disturb her.

"Downstairs," I whispered quietly to Cake, then walked out of the room with my hands in my pockets.

As soon as I floated off of the bottom step, Cake was clawing me viciously. "HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY BABY! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU TWO DO?! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" she snarled, still clawing away.

I flicked her in the nose, only somewhat fazed by her claws. My clothes on the other hand...

I stood up calmly. "We didn't do anything Cake. We just fell asleep. I swear. I would never do anything to hurt her."

"BULL SHIT!" she hissed angrily.

I sighed. "Cake. Calm down. You're going to wake her."

She was still frizzing out, but she lowered her voice a little bit. "Why are you here, anyways?"

"I was actually planning on going home by borrowing one of your umbrellas, since the sun had risen by the time we had gotten home. We went on a late night adventure last night, you know, the usual, killing a beast or two, running with wolves, all that jazz. Anyways, she insisted that I stay here since the sun was up. I told her I would be fine just going home. But then she dragged me upstairs to her room since I told her that there were too many windows in here and I could get burned easily, and her bed is covered with pelts and junk. Then we just fell asleep. I swear."

She was still glaring at me, claws still extended, fur still frizzed, half-snarls still streaming. "We'll see what Fi says."

"Aww, but I wanna go home," I whined, plopping down on their couch tiredly. It was early afternoon, so luckily the sun wasn't inside at the moment.

She turned to glare at me, clearly still pissed. "You can just sit your happy ass on that damn couch and not move!"

I floated off of the couch then, going to the kitchen. I grabbed an apple out of a bowl and sucked the red out of it, then placed it back perfectly. At her hiss of anger and annoyance, I threw a taunting smile over my shoulder at her. "What, cat, am I annoying you?"

"Very much, are you pleased with yourself?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Yes, I am." I looked her over then. "How was your date?" I asked, trying to make her less angry.

She looked up then, suspicion and excitement in her eyes. "It was fun. Why?"

I floated lazily with my hands folded behind my head. "Oh, just wondering. Fi said you really like this Mochro."

The excitement became more prominent in her eyes, the suspicion fading a bit but not exactly disappearing. "Yeah, he's great. He's a Monochromicorn."

"Oh, what, not even your species?" I asked teasingly. She fluffed up a little bit, but it was obvious she loved talking about her boyfriend.

She shrugged then. "No one stays within their species these days."

"Oh really? I see Candy couples all the time."

"I mean aside from the Candy People..."

"I've seen plenty of Flame couples," I said, chuckling at her frustrated expression.

"Fine, so we aren't the same species, does it really freaking matter?!" she demanded, pouting just a little bit.

"Nah, it's fine. I don't have anything against people of different species getting together. It's nice to see some diversity sometimes," I told her honestly. I floated closer to the ceiling, deep in thought.

Cake must've been calling to me for a bit, and I must've really not been paying attention, because the next thing I remember is being stabbed in the back by one of her suddenly sharp claws. I yelped quietly, turning to her. "What the hell was that for?!"

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Clearly, you were way too deep into your thoughts." I looked away and floated towards the stairs. "What do you think you're doing?"

I looked at her. "Checking on Fi real quick. We've been down here for a while now, and usually she's awake by now." Before she could protest, I quickly floated away from her, nearly desperate to get away from her. I need to think clearly for a moment. I walk in Fi's room and head for the bathroom, planning on splashing myself in the face with some cold water or something.

Change of plans.

"MARSHALL LEE!" Fi screamed from inside the bathroom. She had been in the process of changing, but at least she had been facing the other way, considering the fact that her shirt was off. I quickly walked back out and shut the door tightly.

If my face hadn't been on fire before, it certainly was now. "Sorry!" I quickly apologized, close to the door so she could hear me. "I hadn't realized you were in there!" I float away quickly, sitting on her bed with my head in my hands.

She comes out a minute later, wearing something different for once; artfully faded grayish-black skinny jeans, a short red top with slits in the arms, a black tank top underneath, and some combat boots with the skinny jeans tucked in. She looks over at me. "It's okay, Marshall. I just wasn't expecting that to happen." She gave me a once over, and asked, "What the junk happened to your clothes, dude?"

I blinked twice, looked down at my now ripped clothes, and chuckled. "Cake."

Dang, that was my third favorite shirt, too.

Then she heads down the stairs, going to talk to Cake, I guessed.

It took all I had to not watch her as she descended the stairs. After gaining my composure, I floated down the stairs lazily, hands in my pockets. Cake and Fi were having a conversation with a snack. I grabbed some strawberries out of the fridge, floated over to the couch, and set to sucking all the red out of them. I had no clue what Fi and Cake's conversation was about, but I was a little preoccupied with my current thoughts. I was through the strawberries quicklier than I had thought, and the sun still hadn't set. "Fi, do you mind if I go home now?"

She looked at me from her place in the kitchen, then out the window at the sun, which was still pretty high in the sky. "No adventure tonight?"

"Nah, no way dude. Cake woke me up early; I'm beat." For emphasis, I put my head back on the couch and closed my eyes. Really, I was so tired the couch was really starting to look fantastic.

She sighed at me. "Dude, what if you fell asleep on your way home? You can stay here and sleep longer," she said with a somewhat whiny voice.

I rolled my head to look in her direction and smiled. "Dude, what if I just go home now? I can sleep there," I told her, mocking the tone she had used.

She stuck her tongue out at me, and I flew over quickly and grabbed it between my thumb and forefinger. "Marhall! Sop it!"

I chuckled and let her go. "I'm going home, dude. You couldn't stop me if you tried." I float over and grab the red umbrella, popping it open as I open the door.

Fi runs over and hugs me around the waist. "Be careful dude."

"What are you doing, Fi?" I ask, looking up so she can't see my slight blush. "Why the random hug?"

She looks up, surprised. "Uh..." Then she shoves me out the door, blushing furiously. "I don't know, I just had to."

* * *

**Fionna's POV**

I shove Marsh out the door. "I don't know, I just had to." Then I shut the door and sink behind it.

Cake gives me a look, gazing between the window, where I supposed Marsh was, and back to me. Him, back at me. Him, back at me. "Did something happen between you two?" she asks, grinning evilly.

"Wha- What?! No! No, dude!" I exclaimed, surprised.

"Suuuuuuuuuuure. You like him, don't you?!" she asked, stretching over and poking me in the chest with each word.

I pushed her away. "Eww! No way, dude! Never!" I walked back to the kitchen, grabbing my unfinished sandwich and taking a bite. "I have no freaking clue what you're talking about."

Cake rolls her eyes at me. "Sure, whatever dude."

"Anyways, don't we have to go to Gumball's later?" I asked her, trying to change the subject.

"Oooh, don't we! Speaking of which, why are you dressed like that? Sudden mood change?"

"No, nothing else is clean enough to wear. My clothes from yesterday stink."

Cake rolls her eyes. "Like that was the only thing you could've thrown together."

"Yes, the only thing that would've matched decently. Have you seen the rest of my clothes? Nothing matches!"

"That's because you don't know much about colors and junk. At least you managed to get that on without it looking like a train wreck." She grabs my arm and pulls me upstairs. "Let's see what I can find."

She ended up finding something I was much more comfortable with; a light purple t-shirt and a darker purple skort. Not sure when she made or bought these, but hey, it's better than skinny jeans. How do people move in them?

I put the stuff she threw at me on, and went to go get my Mary Janes so we could get going. "Those things are so worn out. We should get you some new ones," Cake says. "Those almost look sad."

"Yes, I know, but with being an adventurer and heroine, I don't have much time to spend buying shoes," I tell her. "We can go get me some new ones on our way to Gumball's if it makes you feel better." She looks at me excitedly, and before she can say anything, I say, "Just shoes, Cake! Just SHOES! I don't wanna go on a shopping spree, dude!" Her eyes dim a little bit, but this little statement seems to have made her day. I grab my green backpack, make sure I have a couple swords in it, and put it on my shoulder. "Let's go, dude."

When we get outside, it's actually a pretty nice day. Not too warm, a cool breeze in the air. Cake stretches out and lets me get on her back, and we head out for the Candy Kingdom at a leisurely pace. I lean back against Cake and sigh happily. "These days are the best."

She purrs happily. "They sure are, babycakes!"

We get to the Candy Kingdom a little while later, and the sun is still taking its sweet time going down. It wasn't even close to the horizon. I hop off Cake and she shrinks down to her normal size. She directs me towards the shops of the Candy Kingdom excitedly. An hour and 20 bags of clothes, shoes, and other things, we head off towards Gumball's castle. I shake my head at Cake. "Did we really have to buy so much junk?"

"OF COURSE!" she says. "I have to have plenty of things for you to wear!"

I sigh and enter the castle, not really bothering to knock anymore. I see Peppermint Maid walking somewhere with some papers in her arms and call to her, "Hey, Peppermint Maid! Where's PG?"

She looks over at me as if noticing me for the first time. "Oh, hi Fionna! He said he would be up from his lab in a few minutes, so why don't you hang out in the ballroom until he gets here?"

I nod. "Thanks!" I tell her, and then grab Cake's arm-the one not full of bags- and pull her towards the ballroom. She puts all the bags in a corner, and stretches over to me, flexing her arm slightly. "I've gotten a little stronger," she states proudly.

"Definitely. Hey, dude. Mochro is probably here somewhere. Why don't you go find him?"

Her eyes widen like she had just started playing with a bag of catnip. "What if you need me?"

"Don't go too far, and when you find him, stay in the gardens. I'll call if I need you."

She hugs me and runs off excitedly. "Thanks babycakes!"

I end up laughing and walk around the ballroom, noticing small things I hadn't seen before. The tiles on the floor had tiny patterns scratched into them. The ceiling had a ring around it with tiny people sketched in it. The light fixture had exactly 52 lights. I kept noticing stupid small things until a hand tapped me on the shoulder and I turned to see Gumball. "Oh, hey, PG! How's it goin'?"

"Oh, not too bad, Fionna. How about yourself?" he asks with a small bow.

"I'm great!" I enthused. "What did you need me for?"

"What, I can't just ask my friend to come over and just hang out for a bit?" he asks casually.

"Well it's just not what you do every day," I laugh. "But yes, it would be nice to not be your guinea pig for once."

"Is Cake here with you?" he asks.

"Oh, yeah, but I sent her off to find LM. I told her to keep close in case anything happens though, so you don't have to worry, PG." I smile to reassure him. "We just went on a freaking huge shopping trip," I tell him, rolling my eyes towards the pile of bags in the corner.

"What all did you buy?" he asks with a curious expression.

"Uh.. stuff. I don't really know, she did all the shopping. I know I got some new shoes."

He chuckles. "Of course. I noticed you're wearing something different today. That shade of purple looks lovely on you."

I look down, blushing. "Thanks PG."

He looks at me with a questioning and nervous expression. "Uhm.."

"What is it, Gumball?"

He pauses, and looks away, becoming more and more nervous. "I was wondering if... if... You'd like to go on a date with me sometime?" he asks, looking away as if bracing himself for a 'no'.

I stop to think about it for a moment. I hadn't quite gotten over my crush of him yet, even though it'd been 3 years since I was 13. He had continuously rejected me, and I still stood by him no matter what. Cake had gone off on him numerous times, but thankfully they were still on friendly terms. I had gotten frustrated over his rejection, but it was easier to deal with when I didn't ask him about it. Here we are, three years later, and he finally decides to show some interest? What's up with that?

"Uh.. Fionna?" he asks, still anxious.

I blink a few times and manage to find my voice. "Why now? After all the years we've known each other, and every time I asked you, you would reject me. Why is it now, is it because I'm just a little bit older? I mean..."

"I'm so sorry, Fionna. I just... I didn't know how to say yes. I hated telling you no all the time. I hated to see how you got so upset every time it happened, I hated knowing that I had done that to you. I wanted to tell you yes, I just... I didn't know how..."

I look up at him with watery eyes. "PG, do you mind if I think about it for a little bit?"

He nods solemnly. "It's not a no, and I'm overjoyed with just that."

"Can you tell Cake I'm gonna go home? Make sure she gets all that stuff." He nods again, and I blink away my tears and walk away quickly, quite confused with this whole event. I head out of the castle, wiping away my tears so that I looked normal again. I walk calmly towards my treehouse, knowing I'm not going there. I go to the Strawberry Fields instead, and I'm there sooner than expected. The sun has just set, and the moon is shining brightly. It's a peaceful setting.

"Why is he just now doing this? Is he just trying to lead me on? Does he really mean it, or is this just another joke to him?" I question myself aloud, looking at the moon and nibbling on some strawberries. "Does he actually like me, or is he just doing this because he knows how much it hurts?" I hear a rustle and spin around, my hand twitching instinctively towards the sword in my bag. "Who's there?" I call. I wait for a reply, and head slowly in the direction I heard it come from, my sword now in hand. I circle a bush and a tree, but nothing is found. I look up in the tree just to be sure, and see nothing. I still can't shake the feeling that I'm being watched again. I slowly retreat to where I was and pick a strawberry off a bush nearby and chew it quietly. I grab a few more and go back to the tree I had just inspected, and slowly slid down to where I was leaning against it.

Closing my eyes and tilting my head back, I sigh loudly. "Why now?" A tear escapes my eye, and I wipe it away angrily. "Don't you remember that promise you made yourself a long time ago, Fionna? You'd never cry for him again?"

I shut up for a minute to see if I get a response, and chuckle. "Breaking your own promises. Again."

I chew a few more strawberries, and set the others on top of my bag. Then I tilt my head back again, eyes closed, and just think over it for a while. Maybe I should say yes...

I heard another rustle. I shot straight up, sword in hand once again, and called, "Who's there?! I'm getting really annoyed with this!"

I wait a minute, and a shadow moves in the tree above me. I see a glint of red eyes, and I feel relieved for a second, thinking it's Marshall, but quickly realize it isn't. These eyes aren't the usual playfully dangerous of Marshall, they're the straight up evil and cruel of a different vampire.

I mean, no other being has red eyes, right?

I hold my sword defensively, and demand, "Who are you?" The shadow stays quiet, but jumps out of the tree to land right in front of me. It's a boy.

And he looks just like Marshall.

Surely it isn't him.

But it is Marshall. Or at least it looks like him, if nothing else. He stays quiet as he glares dangerously at me, clearly enjoying my reaction to this horrible realization. I feel my eyes widen infinitesimally, and his eyes zero in on the tiny difference in me. He smiles wickedly, and suddenly, I lose my will to fight. I couldn't hurt Marshall. I lose my grip on my sword and it falls to the ground with a deafeningly silent clang. I blink at the boy twice, terrified and yet strangely at peace at the same time. "What will you do?" I ask him.

His smile widens, and he says one sentence that makes no sense to me. "The end is coming, Vampire King."

That's all my mind has time to register before I feel him slash at my chest and his teeth sink into my neck.

I jerk straight up, gasping for breath, my heart beating a million miles an hour. It's still dark, so I shakily grab my sword from my bag, silent tears streaming down my cheeks. A rustle distracts me. I scream, completely terrified. A shadow drops down in front of me, and then I feel cold hands gripping my upper arms. "Fi, what's wrong?!" Marshall asks, alarmed. The tears continue streaming from my eyes, and I lose the small grip I did have on my sword and drop it, shaking as Marshall holds me close. "Fi, what happened? Did I scare you?" he asks again, fretting.

I shake my head and grip his shirt, sobbing. He picks me up and holds me in his lap, rocking me back and forth and rubbing my back in small circles to soothe me. Eventually I stop and just start blubbering uncontrollably. He continues to just sit there, rock me, rub my back, and let me cry myself out. When I just start whimpering and curling up against his chest tiredly, he holds me close, grabs my bag with his free hand, tosses it on his shoulder, and floats off. He cradles me close and strokes my hair calmly. I grip the back of his shirt again, pull myself even closer to him, inhaling his scent. "Thanks Marsh," I whisper, burying my face in his chest.

I refused to think of the boy in my dream as Marshall. Marshall would never hurt me.


	4. Chapter 4: A Long Week

**Chapter 4: A Long Week**

**Fionna's POV**

Marshall tugs on one of my bunny ears and pulls my hat off, again. "What the junk, Marsh! Why do you keep attacking my hat?" I demand, jumping up to attempt to retrieve my hat. "Give it back!"

"Nah, I think I'll keep it," he teases. "Calm down, Bunny, I just wanna see how I look with it on." He starts to put it on his head, watching me out of the corner of his eye, and floats just a little bit closer to the ground on accident.

I jump up and tackle him, grabbing my hat victoriously. "Hah!" I exclaim, putting it back on. "I win!"

"Oh, do you?" he murmurs, floating closer and closer to me.

I feel my eyes widen, and I try to step away, but he has me backed up against the wall, and he puts both his arms on either side of me. "It looks like I win, if you ask me," he continues.

My cheeks heat up, and I can't seem to find my voice. He gets closer, closer, closer...

And takes my damn hat again.

He floats away quickly, chuckling. "I win again, Bunny."

I sigh and sit on his uncomfortable couch, pouting slightly, and also trying to get my ridiculous blush to go away. "I'm going to have to find a way to keep my hat on permanently. You can't just keep taking it like this."

"Or can I, Bunny?"

"No, you really can't."

"I don't see why you always wear it anyways, I mean, you can't just leave your hair out?" He inspects my hat, pulling on the ears a little bit.

"No, not really Marsh. Can I have it back, please?"

He hands it over grudgingly. "Fine..."

"Thank you," I say simply, putting it on my head again. "What do you wanna do?"

"Well, I just got the new Heat Signature. Wanna watch it?"

"How did you get that already?" I demand. "It's impossible."

"Pssht. I know people."

"Sure, sure. I'll go get some popcorn," I tell him while walking to the kitchen. "By the way. You need a new couch. That one is horrible."

"You said that last time you were here!"

"Yeah, and it hasn't changed. Strawberries?"

"Sure. And there are plenty of pillows and cushions you can use. No need for me to go and get a whole new couch," he says teasingly.

"You are a pain in my neck, Marsh."

"Oh, I have one of those, too." I poke my head around the door and look at him. He has his hand over his bite marks.

"Ha ha," I mutter sarcastically.

"Careful using too much sarcasm," he warns me. "Your voice was practically dripping in it. I don't need a lake in the middle of my kitchen."

I roll my eyes and grab the popcorn and strawberries, and walk back in his living room. "Shh, the movie's starting."

He takes the strawberries I offer him and floats over to his couch. I grab a cushion and sit in front of him.

The next thing I know, I'm completely absorbed in the movie, watching as the idiots on the screen attempt to find their heat signature. I shiver, wondering what that would be like. Marshall must've floated close to me, because he's in my ear whispering, "Scared, Bunny? Don't worry, I'll protect you."

I shiver again, thinking of the brief terrifying nightmare from the other day. I curl my knees to my chest and wrap my arms around them. 'I can't believe all this... What is going on with me?' I stare unseeingly at the screen, thinking hard. 'What did they mean, the end was coming? And why were they coming into my dreams?' Naturally, I was concerned for Marshall's safety, even though he was a vampire that could take care of himself... Still...

"Bunny?" Marsh softly calls me back to reality.

I blink a few times, my eyes dry from not blinking much. "Hmm?"

"You okay?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Well, I mean... You looked completely terrified in the strawberry fields the other day, and you haven't exactly been yourself the past couple days. I was just wondering."

I turn and look back at the screen, still hugging my knees to my chest. "Yeah.. I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"Movie's almost over."

"'Kay," I murmur. I get lost in my thoughts again, still trying to come up with an answer for Gumball. Maybe I should ask Marshall what he thinks I should do..?

Suddenly, the screen goes blue, and I jump, startled.

"See, this is what I mean, Bunny. You're ridiculously jumpy and distant. What happened? You can tell me, you know."

I look at him over my shoulder, and his eyes are full of concern. I sigh silently, not sure what to do. I bite my lip, undecided.

He comes closer and wraps an arm around my shoulder. "It's alright. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'll always be here if you do, though."

"Thanks, Marsh. You're the best."

He laughs. "I know," he says arrogantly.

I sit by the couch while he takes the bowls to the kitchen and comes back, turning off the TV. I stretch tiredly. After a minute, I decide to tell Marshall. I put my head back on the couch and close my eyes. "I've been acting weird recently, I know."

"Just a little bit," he murmurs with concern.

I flash my eyes open and stare at the ceiling. "Gumball asked me to go with him on a date."

Silence.

"Did he?" Marshall asks, sounding strained.

"Yeah.."

"What did you say?"

"I told him I'd think about it."

"Why? I thought you had a crush on him."

"Well, I did.. But that was years ago. I finally get over him, and then he just comes out with this? I mean... is he just trying to lead me on, or what? It's not like this just came out of nowhere, and it's not like he actually has a crush on me, right?" My eyebrows furrow together. "I don't get it. Is it because I'm older?"

Marshall looks like he's contemplating things, so I give him a minute. "I don't know. What do you want to do?"

"I kinda wanna say yes, and I kinda just wanna run away and never look at him again. It makes me mad, because I liked him for all that time, and now he just does this?"

"Maybe.. you should say yes."

I look at him like he's crazy. "Why?"

"I mean, it can't hurt, right? If nothing else, you can prove to yourself that you really don't like him anymore. And you can prove it to him, too."

"Hmm."

Marshall looks away then, for some reason. "Is that really what you think I should do?" I ask him.

He pauses, then smiles at me. "Sure, why not? It's probably a good test."

I sigh heavily, still not fully convinced. "I guess.. Later this week, then."

"What does this have to do with you acting weird, though? Is it the only reason?"

Looks like it's my turn to pause. "It was really just something stupid, Marsh..."

"You can tell me, you know," he repeats.

I blink slowly, not sure how to tell him. "I uh.. I had a bad nightmare. Thankfully, I woke up."

"What happened?"

"... It was horrible. You-"

"Me?" he cut in.

"Yes, you. You.. attacked me," I whisper, putting my head down on my knees.

Again, silence.

"I.. attacked you?" he sounded horrified. I glance at him.

"Yeah.. but I mean, it's not like you would really do something like that. It wasn't even really you, it was just someone that looked like you. Like he was using a disguise. It was awful," I murmur, my head spinning sickeningly at the thought of the nightmare.

Next thing I know, Marshall's hugging me like crazy. "I'd never hurt you, Fi. Not ever, in a million years. I can't even imagine something like that..." he whispers to me.

"M-Marshall?" I ask worriedly.

He hugs me tighter. "Never..."

I return his hug carefully, not really sure what's going on. "It's okay, Marsh. I know you'd never hurt me."

We stay like that for a while, Marshall hugging me and murmuring how he'd never do anything to harm me, and me hugging him back quietly. Eventually he pulls me into his lap, and I'll admit, it's more comfortable than how we were.

I don't think I'm the only one not acting like myself.

* * *

I blink tiredly, feeling the sun in my eyes. I haven't been sleeping long, I can tell.

But wait, when did I fall asleep?

... I don't remember much. I was at Marshall's, watching a movie, and...

Oh.

I look over, and I see Marshall's face, not far from mine, sleeping peacefully. We're in his living room, and I must've fallen asleep on his lap when he hugged me last night. Better move him, though, or the sun's going to burn him to ashes...

"Marsh..." I call softly, not wanting to just jump up without warning. He doesn't do much except twitch slightly and his arms tighten a little around me. I reach my arm up and poke him in the cheek, and his eyes flash open. "Morning," I murmur.

He blinks rapidly. "Fi.." He looks down, sees his arms wrapped around me, and his eyes widen rapidly. He lets go quickly, floating backwards.

Right into the sun.

I hear a little sizzle, and he flies quickly to the wall, hissing. I go over to him swiftly, reach my hand out, and steady him. He only got burned a little on his arm.

"You okay?" I ask anxiously.

"Yeah.." He rubs his arm resentfully.

"Gotta be more careful, Marsh. I hate to wake you up, but the sun was gonna burn you in your sleep if I didn't do something." I look down and take a step back.

"Sorry Fi."

"It's okay. Just quit getting burned."

"Hard to do, but I'll work on it," he says sarcastically.

"Good." I walk over and make sure everything's in my bag. "You can go back to sleep, Marsh. Just make sure you're in your bed so you don't get burned. I better get going or Cake might freak."

He looks like he doesn't want me to go, but he nods. "Good plan, Bunny."

I stretch for a minute before putting my bag on my shoulder. "I guess I'll see you later, Marshall Lee."

"Same to you, Fionna the Human."

I laugh at the formalities, and he does as well. I punch him lightly in the shoulder as I walk by, and he returns the favor. "Watch the sun, Marshall."

"Yeah, I'll try to remember that. See ya around, Bunny."

"See ya." Then I walk out his door into the blinding morning sun.

It's just clearing the horizon, so I have plenty of time to get home before Cake starts freaking. 'Shower, first thing when you get home,' I tell myself. 'Then you can sleep.' Not for the first time recently, I can't shake the feeling that I'm being watched once again. I choose to ignore it because while it's annoying, I'm not going to let it distract me. I walk cheerfully home, enjoying the warmth of the sun as it rises. I pick up my pace when I know I'm getting close to home, and when I open the door and quietly close it behind me, Cake attacks me in a hug.

I'm getting really sick of hugs.

"Babycakes! You're home!"

"Yep," I mutter. "Can I take a shower?"

"Sure, go right ahead. What do you want to eat?"

"Not hungry, just tired, Cake. Take the day to do whatever you want, no adventuring for me today."

"Does that mean-"

"Yeah, go ahead and go see Mochro."

Another hug. "Thanks Fi! You're the best!"

"Yep, I know." I trudge up the stairs tiredly then, and gather my stuff for the shower, and afterwards, I listen to see if Cake is still home.

Nope; silence greets me again.

"Thank Glob," I mutter before flopping into my bed and promptly falling asleep.

* * *

When I opened my eyes again, it was ridiculously stuffy and I could hardly breathe. Not to mention so dark I couldn't see my own hand. Then I realize I was under my pelts and I flip them back, annoyed. There, now I can breathe. The sun was halfway down the sky. It cast long shadows and beautiful colors across the sky. I stand up and wobble a little bit from a head rush, but then I stretch through it and walk slowly downstairs, hungry. I just get a bowl of cereal, too lazy for anything else.

The sound of someone knocking on the door makes me finish quickly and I put the bowl in the sink on my way to answer the door as they knock again. "Coming!" I call.

I open the door, and Gumball gives me one of his usual princely smiles. "Hello, Fionna. I trust you are feeling well?"

"You trust correctly," I tell him. "Come on in." He walks through the door and sits in one of the chairs nearby while I shut the door and head for the kitchen again. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much, Fionna. I was just wondering if you had an answer to my question yet."

"Actually, I was planning on coming over today to tell you, but I fell asleep," I say.

"Ah, I see."

"The answer is yes," I say simply. I peek around so I can see him, and he's grinning brilliantly.

"Great!" he enthuses. "I am honored to be able to take you on a date! Did you have a certain day in mind?"

"Can it be later this week? Busy schedule."

"Of course!"

"Cool," I say quietly. "How have you been since I last saw you?"

"Oh, I've been just fine! I was working on a new experiment, but..."

"It didn't go well, did it?" I ask, chuckling.

"No," he admits, laughing as well. "It really didn't."

"Do I want to know?"

"No, you probably don't," he says with another chuckle.

"Well then. Couldn't have been good at all. Do you want anything to drink or eat?"

"No, I actually ate a little while ago. Thank you though."

"No problem," she says while pulling out a carton of juice. She pours a cup of it, returns the juice to its spot in the fridge, and goes out to the living room and sits on the couch, slouching lazily. There was a slightly tensed silence in the room. "Was there something else you wanted to talk about, PG?" she asks when she couldn't take the silence any more.

"Well, yes.. You see, I'm not quite sure what's going on, but there have been some attacks on certain parts of the kingdom lately, but we don't know what's causing them. The only traces we've found is some burn marks on buildings and the ground and such, but it's not easy to tell if someone came in with a weapon capable of producing flames or if it was a fire elemental. The candy people haven't seen anything or anyone, they just come home to fires blazing and burn marks everywhere. They're getting quite scared," he says, looking worried for his people.

I sit up a little bit straighter, thinking. "Hmm... definitely doesn't sound like something Ice Queen would do," I mutter.

"No, not really. This doesn't appear to be something of her caliber, or anywhere near her forte."

"What do you think? Was it a fire elemental?"

"It's quite possible," Gumball says decidedly. "Maybe we should put up cameras in areas of frequent attacks?"

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea. I'll come over to the Candy Kingdom tomorrow and help you set them up. I want to look at these things for myself, as well."

"Great!" Gumball exclaims, clapping his hands together lightly.

I groan inwardly. 'He doesn't act like a guy sometimes...'

Gumball looks at me like he wants to say something, but thinks better of it. "I suppose I should be on my way," he says. I put my juice down and get up, stretching. Gumball comes over and kisses me lightly on the cheek, and goes to the door. "See you later, Fionna."

I simply stand there, hearing the door open and close again, eyes wide. 'Okay, Fi, you can move now,' my brain attempts to slap me back to reality.

I rub my cheek resentfully, not liking the feeling he left there at all. "Looks like I don't even need the test-date to see if I like him or not," I mutter. "Because I clearly don't."

While waiting for Cake to get home, I lay around, playing a little bit of BMO, and when I tire of that, I just stare at the ceiling.

It's well past sunset by the time I hear her come in the door. She's apparently trying to be quiet, but for a cat, she's failing miserably. "Hey, Cake," I call.

"Oh. Hey, babycakes!" she calls back. "Sleep well?"

"Definitely. Have fun with Mochro?"

She had already come in the living room by then, and for some reason, she had a blush on her cheeks and a somewhat fearful look in her eye. "Yeah, it was great," she tells me.

'Then why do you have that look on your face?' I wonder. I shrug it off. "You look kinda tired."

"Yeah, I am. I think I'll go ahead and go to bed. See ya later," she says, climbing upstairs.

Well that was weird.

'What do I do now? Nowhere near tired enough to go back to sleep,' I muse.

'Call Marshall,' I hear.

And again I say, that was weird.

I decide to listen to it anyways and go call him. He would just be waking up.

"Hey, Fi," he says.

"What's up, Marsh?"

"Nothing much, just woke up. Planning on going and pranking people, you know, the usual. What about you?"

"Cake just got home, but since I had an extended nap, I've got nothing to do."

"Well, hey, why don't you come over?" he asks casually.

"Don't see why not. I'll be over in a bit," I tell him.

"Thanks for the warning," he chuckles.

"Don't mention it," I say before hanging up, laughing as well. I go upstairs and quietly choose something to wear, and head back downstairs and go to Marshall's.

* * *

I take my time getting to Marshall's; the night brought decent breezes that I could easily enjoy with it. The moon was beginning to shine brightly, even though it was a mere crescent at the moment. There were few stars out, but it made me happy to be out and about at night; I couldn't do such a thing often. Usually I was succumbing to sleep around this time. No wonder Marshall liked the night so much.

I decided to stop in the strawberry fields and get some strawberries; after all, they were Marshall's favorite, and I was pretty fond of them as well.

I eat a few of the smaller ones, saving the biggest ones for Marshall; he would let me eat them after he sucked the red out of them anyways. I grab the felt bag I had especially for fruit picking out of my bag and start filling it, and when I'm satisfied, I start walking towards Marshall's house again. I don't walk quickly; it's nice out.

Then, I hear someone whispering behind me, and some small part of me demands to just ignore it; it isn't really there, and thus, isn't a threat. Just ignore it.

So I do.

They're whispering about the end again, but this time, they also add something about 'not much time left before she arrives'.

Whatever that means.

I feel myself getting frustrated, but I force myself to continue ignoring it, and am quite proud of myself when I do. Eventually, the whispers fade back into silence, and I continue happily on my way. I can see his caves now. I begin jogging lazily towards them, and when I step inside, his house is glowing with a warm light, and I smile. I go up and walk in, knowing I don't really have to knock.

I practically own the place.

"Marshall!" I call lightly, knowing he can hear me.

"Yeah, yeah, calm your tits, I'm coming," I hear him grumble.

"Not really possible; they're doing the tango," I tell him.

"Oooh, sounds like fun, mind if I join?" he asks, coming into the room and laughing.

"Actually, I do mind," I say, handing him the bag of strawberries with a chuckle.

"Sweet!" he cries. "I was going to go and get some more of these, too. Thanks, Fi!" he says, flicking one of my bunny ears lightly.

"Hey, no problem. I ate a few though, I hope you don't mind," I tease. "What do you wanna do?"

"Hmm," he says, sucking the red from one of the bigger strawberries and handing me the gray husk. "Wanna go out and do something? Find a monster to slay or something?"

"Actually, that sounds like a great idea. Gumball was complaining about some attacks on the kingdom lately, maybe we can check those out if we have time," I suggest.

"Maybe," he allows, "if we have time left over. What kind of attacks?"

"The only tracks he's found so far are just burn marks."

"Sounds like someone from the Fire Kingdom."

"You know, I've never seen one of the Flame People up close. I wonder what they look like," I muse aloud.

"They're pretty hot, but they have some seriously fiery attitudes," he jokes.

"I see what you did there," I laugh, "but I would like to know what they're like."

"Yeah, I know," he chuckles. "I can't believe Gumbutt is just letting these attacks happen; why hasn't he done anything?"

"Probably because he's made of gum and is terrified of fire because it could potentially kill him," I mutter.

"Hey, you shouldn't point out your boyfriend's weak points," he says, "he probably wouldn't care too much to hear you speaking of him in such a way."

"Pssht. He already knows he's weaker than a piece of cooked spaghetti," I mumble.

Marshall looks at me for a moment before bursting out in laughter. "I wish you did that more often, it's quite interesting," he managed between chuckles.

"Yeah, well, we all know it," I say, "and after all these years of saving his weak ass from Ice Queen because he couldn't fight for himself if his life depended on it, I'm kind of sick of it. It feels nice to get that out."

"I would say so," he replies, handing me another strawberry. "Let's get going."

"Yep."

* * *

After killing some weird tree-like beast, and getting a few scrapes here and there, Marshall and I were on our way to the Candy Kingdom. "PG said these attacks tend to happen at night," I tell him. "Maybe we'll get to see what's going on."

"Maybe," he says, floating along next to me lazily. He was lucky; he didn't even get scratched in that fight. Even if he had, he would've healed quickly. He must've noticed my somewhat envious look, because he demands, "What? Do I look weird all of a sudden?"

"What do you mean, all of a sudden?" I wonder aloud, looking away from him.

"Oooh, I think that one almost hurt. What are you talking about? I'm sexy as hell."

Not that I could necessarily disagree, but I keep my mouth shut just to be safe. "Sure, Marsh. Whatever makes you happy."

"I'm sexy and you know it."

I nod in assent. "Sure."

He crosses his arms across his chest like a young child and pouts slightly, bugged that I wouldn't agree with him. I knew he was bluffing, but it was still entertaining to watch.

I could see the Candy Kingdom now, so I start walking a little bit faster. "I'm so not walking all the way home after this. My legs feel like spaghetti."

"I thought Gumbutt was the spaghetti around these parts?" Marshall questions, faking uncertainty.

"He is, but still. Why is Aaa so freaking big?" I demand grumpily.

"Well, if it weren't, we'd all be a lot closer, and we wouldn't want that, would we?"

Nope. Not exactly at the top of the list of things I was dying for.

"True; Ice Queen is close enough for me. Although," I say with a frown, "she has been strangely quiet recently. I wonder what she's up to."

"Whoa, she's actually being quiet for once?"

"I know, totally shocking." I walk through the gates of the Candy Kingdom then, and I sigh, knowing my search could take a while.

"Wanna get on my back? We can see better from up there, you know," Marshall offers.

I accept appreciatively. He allows me to hop up on his back, and he cups his hands under my thighs like we've done a thousand times before, and he floats up, letting me scout the area in silence. "Do you see anything?" I ask him after a few minutes of the quiet.

"No- Wait, what's that?" he asks, letting go of me on one side and pointing.

I grasp his shoulders tighter, terrified of falling. "Uh... I don't know. M-maybe we should go over and check," I say somewhat shakily.

He looks at me over his shoulder, frowning slightly. "Don't you trust me, Fi? I've got you; I won't let you fall."

I nod once, and gaze at the sight he had just pointed at. Sure enough, there was a faint glow, so there must be some kind of fire going on. "Can you take me down there?" I ask.

"What kind of question is that?" he snorts. "Of course I can."

I nod again, and wait for him to get close enough to the site, and he floats silently to the ground, letting me get off his back. I creep around the corner stealthily, sword in hand to face whatever was going on.

As the light gets brighter and I come upon the source of it, my hands tighten on my sword in anticipation.

I go around the last corner, and stare at the heart of the small flicker of flames.

As Marshall had guessed, it was indeed a fire elemental. "Who are you and what are you doing in this kingdom?" I demand, and as the figure whirls to face me, I gasp silently in appreciation.

Yeah, I'll admit, he was cute. He was made completely of flames, a mohawk blazing on his head, and his fiery eyes evaluating her carefully. He had some kind of red gem on his forehead, but she didn't think it strange at all. He simply gazed at her, apparently somewhat startled, his flames growing slightly in his uncertainty. He was wearing some kind of armor-like clothes, the color of flames, and his boots reached just up to under his knees.

We stand there, just appraising each other cautiously. I ask my question again. "Who are you?"

He stands up a little straighter at the tone in my voice, and holds his head up higher. "I am the Prince of the Flame Kingdom."

'At least I got some kind of answer out of him,' I think tiredly. "What are you doing here, and why do you keep attacking this kingdom?"

"Attacking?" he asks, looking quite confused.

'Damn, he's really cute when he cocks his head to the side like that,' I think distractedly. "Yes, I do believe you're the cause of some of the recent burnings the kingdom has suffered."

He looks down, his cheeks burning a little brighter at the way I meet his eyes. 'So, he's shy, too.'

"I apologize. I hadn't realized I was harming anything. You see, my mother just let me out of my recent imprisonment in a lamp. I haven't gotten to see much of the world, and since I am the Prince of the Flame Kingdom, I wanted to obtain knowledge of another's kingdom, to see what the citizens should do, but it seems all I have done is cause some damage," he says with some sadness in his tone.

Marshall comes up to stand at my shoulder then. "Oh, really?" he questions, clearly not believing the boy.

"Yes, it is true. I'm sorry for the things I have harmed. I didn't do it intentionally."

"Well, why didn't you just study your own damn kingdom instead of coming to another? It's not like your kingdom is empty," Marshall demands.

I put a hand to his chest, letting the hand holding my sword relax. "It's okay, Marsh. Let me talk to him, okay?"

He snorts and crosses his arms over his chest, but doesn't object.

"Again, I apologize," Flame Prince says. "I wanted to come to another's kingdom to see how they run it; I do not exactly approve of the way my mother does things," he says, looking annoyed. "Our citizens aren't very happy, and I decided that once I would run the kingdom, I would change that, so I wanted to observe how to makes the people happy once again, like before my mother's rule."

I nod at him, retracting my sword and putting it back in my bag. But before I could say anything to him, Marshall cuts in again. "Why didn't you go to another kingdom nearby?"

"Well," Flame Prince starts, "I couldn't go to the Ice Kingdom, since I would've only been weakened while I was there from all the ice, and I didn't desire to destroy the place, and besides, there aren't any citizens there, unless you count the penguins." His eyes don't leave mine while he speaks, and I can hear a growl building in Marshall's chest for some reason. "I couldn't go to the Grass Kingdom without setting the whole thing ablaze, and I've heard that the Candy Kingdom has always had happy citizens, so this seemed like the best place to start without harming anything much."

Marshall gives him a curt nod, but before he can say anything, I speak. "Have you gained a decent amount of information about how this kingdom is run?" I ask.

"Oh, yes. But I was wondering; you aren't made of candy, yet you protect this kingdom fiercely," he says, his flames growing brighter with the intensity in his eyes. "Do you live here?"

I laugh. "Oh, no. I'm Fionna the Human. I protect this kingdom simply because I am the adventuress and heroine of Aaa," I state proudly.

His eyes widen. "You're Fionna?"

"The one and only."

Marshall's growl is becoming more pronounced, so I look back at him with a calming glance. "It's okay, Marshall. He doesn't mean any harm. Calm down."

He nods curtly, and I can see his jaw clench. I turn back to Flame Prince, and I see that his eyes have grown more excited. "I can't believe I actually have the honor of meeting you!" he exclaims. "I've heard so much about you, but since I was stuck in that prison of a lamp, I didn't think I ever would be able to! This is great!" He extends his hand to me, but I flinch back at the heat rolling off him. He looks slightly hurt, but then he pulls back with understanding. "Sorry. I forget sometimes."

"It's fine. You're the first fire elemental I've gotten to meet, so I'm not quite familiar with how things work," I admit sheepishly.

Marshall pokes me in the shoulder, and I turn to look at him. "Fi, the sun will be up in a couple of hours. Maybe we should get him out of here before he sets something else on fire?"

I nod, and turn back to Flame Prince. "I hate to say it, but I think you should probably go back home now." He starts to look sad. "But I really would like to get to know you better. Maybe we can set something up, and I can show you more of the Candy Kingdom," I say with a grin.

He looks completely elated, and his flames grow even brighter. "That sounds great!" he exclaims, clearly excited at the thought.

"How about you meet me back over at the gates of the kingdom in a couple of days? I'm sure that Prince Gumball would like to meet you, although you might have to be careful, since he is made of gum," I say, suddenly unsure.

"I think I can figure something out; I think my mom has some kind of flame shield around the castle somewhere. If nothing else, I can always find a way to use something so I won't burn everything I touch," he says.

"Mathematical!" I enthuse, and I lead him back towards the entrance to the kingdom, Marshall floating behind us. When we part ways, Marshall lets me get on his back again and sets off towards the treehouse. I wrap my arms around his neck so I feel a little bit safer, and put my head on his shoulder, tired.

"Fi?" he calls softly.

"Mmm?" I murmur.

He pauses. "You think it was a good idea to invite him back into the kingdom without getting Gumbutt's permission first?" he asks after a minute of silence.

Maybe it's just me, but this doesn't seem like what he wanted to say in the first place.

"I don't see why not," I mumble sleepily. He floats slower and shifts me so I'm in his arms, and my bag has replaced me on his back. He cradles me closer, my head on his shoulder, and I'm so tired that the feeble attempt of rebellion my brain has fades after a few seconds. I curl into him, slightly chilled by the night breeze, and I think I hear him chuckle softly. I mumble something even I'm not sure was supposed to mean, and I close my heavy lids, letting sleep claim me.

* * *

When I wake up, I'm still in Marshall's arms.

Who knew he was a cuddler?

Anyways, I also notice that I'm not home. We're under a big tree, near a small sparkling pond. I wonder vaguely why Marsh didn't just take me home, but I realize I really don't care. It's mid-afternoon, and the only sounds I hear are the wind whispering through the leaves around us and Marshall's soft breathing, which is tickling my neck. I sigh contentedly, and don't try to move.

He'll wake up on his own.

Eventually he does; the sun has switched places in the sky, going from directly overhead to lazily sliding down in the west. My breathing has slowed significantly. He yawns softly, probably thinking I'm still asleep, so I let him think it, and he chuckles softly and hugs me a little closer.

"Have a nice nap?" I ask innocently, making him jump. He lets go of me quickly and I slide to the ground in front of him.

He takes his time to answer. "I thought you were asleep," he mumbles.

I laugh at his expression. "It's alright. You're kinda cute when you sleep," I croon, smiling.

"Sure, sure. Sorry I didn't take you home; the sun was too close to rising and there was no way I could get there without getting burned."

I shrug. "It's fine. I didn't really wanna go home anyways. It's nice to get out. Besides, Cake probably went to see Mochro again."

"I'm not the only one slightly disturbed by their relationship, right?" he questions.

"Nah. The whole different-species thing is weird, but there's only so much you can do, and if she's happy, then I approve."

He nods, thinking about it. I look over at the pond, and it suddenly looks inviting. It isn't one of those ponds that goes from grass and gradually goes to water; there's grass, and then there's a little ledge, almost like a bench, and then the water. I go over and take my stockings and shoes off, and dip a foot in. The water is nice and cool, the perfect remedy for a hot afternoon. I sit down and slide my other leg in and lay back, enjoying it. Marshall floats over and looks down at me, grinning. "Having fun?"

I close my eyes. "Oh, shut up."

I hear him chuckle, and he sits down, putting my head in his lap. He pulls on a bunny ear, asking permission. I nod my approval, and he takes my hat off, and starts playing with my hair absently. I don't interrupt him, just close my eyes again and kick my legs slowly, disrupting the still glass-like pond. By the time the sun sets, I'm so relaxed I could probably sleep again. I manage to get my eyes open again, and I look straight up into Marshall's, which are much closer than usual.

They look softer at the moment, not as cold and hard-yet still full of humor and fun-as they would be when we're in the Candy Kingdom, or around anyone, really. Still, they're much more open and almost... loving..?

"Hi Marsh," I murmur. He nods slowly, with a small smile. I hear him make a sound of pleasure.

"What do you use for your hair? It's so globbin' soft," he muses, nearly a mutter. His eyes don't look soft anymore, and I wonder if maybe I just imagined the whole thing. Yeah, I must've; no way Marsh would have looked like that in a million years...

'It's called "wishful thinking", you idiot,' I think. 'Quit staring at him like that; he's going to think you're even weirder than you already are.'

"Hey, Fi?" I hear Marshall ask. 'He caught you staring, stupid.'

"What's up?"

He pauses, looking slightly uncomfortable, and then his eyes are dancing with some kind of unheard joke, or so it seems. "Do you want to go home now?"

I sigh heavily, and pull my legs out of the water, putting my stockings and shoes back on. "I guess I better; no need to make Cake worry too much, I suppose."

He looks almost disappointed, but he quickly gets back to his normal self. "Well, we wouldn't want a lil' kitty cat jumpin' into a hissy fit, would we?" he teases.

"No, not really," I laugh, stuffing my hair into my hat and getting it on my head.

"You know, it always amazes me that you can get all that into that one small hat," he muses. He offers his hand to help me get up, and we start walking towards home.

"Hah. You made a rhyme," I laugh, grinning.

"Hmm, I guess I did. Must be because I'm such an amazing lyricist."

"Ooh, definitely. You have to sing next time PG has a ball."

"Don't I always?" he asks, cocking his head to the side.

"Yes, but I'm dying to hear you sing again. I love all of your songs."

He looks away at that. "All of them?" he murmurs.

"Always." Then I punch him lightly in the shoulder, smiling. It takes him a minute, but when I look away to admire the night sky, he returns the punch.

Good to see clouds block my skies no longer.

* * *

We arrive at my house, and I demand that he comes in for a minute. As soon as I open the door, Cake glomps me, and then turns-claws and hisses present- to Marshall, demanding to know 'why the hell he kept me out' and 'where the hell we've been'. I sigh and turn to her. "It was my fault, Cake. I had to take care of some stuff in the Candy Kingdom, and by the time I was done, it was almost sunrise, so Marshall couldn't bring me straight home; we crashed under a tree." I rub my eyes somewhat tiredly for emphasis.

She nods, clearly unhappy, but accepts it. "Well, both Prince Gumball were concerned when we couldn't find you all day. You should've seen him; he was so panicky, his voice cracked a thousand times because he started talking so high-pitched," she tells me, laughing.

I can't help but laugh, partially because it truly was funny to picture, and partially to hide my slight discomfort over PG being so concerned about me; he didn't own me, after all.

I go to the kitchen, and come back with some red fruits for Marsh. I hand them over, and he looks truly pleased. "Sorry, I forgot to grab anything red; but I didn't think we would be gone for so long," I apologize. "You must've been hungry," I add, watching as he quickly sucks the red out of two apples, and glancing back at me when I say this, looking slightly embarrassed. "You can go home now, Marshall. I release you," I say teasingly, aiming for a creepy-warlock tone, but it doesn't go over well, and I just end up laughing.

He laughs with me. "Sorry; it's true, I am freaking starved. But I guess I'll go; see you around, Fi." He peeks over my shoulder at Cake, baring his fangs and hissing dangerously. "See ya, Cat," he adds before floating out the door with a snicker at her terrified expression.

"Don't worry, Cake. I won't let the vampire hurt you," I say, loud enough for Marshall to hear. I hear another snicker, and then he's gone.

After he leaves, I stay up playing BMO for a while, but when I can't fight sleep off anymore-seems my earlier nap did nothing, really-I go to bed, curling up on my side under the pelts, feeling warm and secure.

* * *

I find myself in yet another forest, and it's late. I look up, seeing the sliver of the moon, and a few stars, but there's something dark and foreboding here. I walk forward, sword in hand, each step progressively more cautious than the last. I look around warily, but once again, there's nothing to find. I sigh, feeling kind of stupid to allow these things to stalk me like this.

I feel eyes on me, and I whirl around, meeting a pair of ruby red eyes.

I jump back, demanding to know who it is. It's a boy again; the vampire. He's wearing a neat gray suit and tie, and also a sinister smile that almost made me want to shiver.

Almost.

"Who are you?!" I demand again, adjusting my sword in my sweaty palms.

"Oh, I'm but a friend," he murmurs silkily.

"Really? Somehow I'm not inclined to believe you," I say, tilting my chin up.

"Oh, but you should," he murmurs, coming closer with a graceful dance-like step.

"Don't come near me," I warn angrily. "Why won't you just leave me alone?"

He smiles, and he appears to look like Marshall for just a second, and when I blink again, the mirage fades. I can hear my heart beating faster. He apparently hears it too, because his smile widens, and he suddenly looks like the cat who caught the canary.

"Don't fear me, Fionna," he purrs. "I won't harm you. Although you do smell," he pauses to inhale deeply, "simply delicious."

I feel myself falter back a step, although I was sure I had told myself to stay put. He comes closer again, and suddenly, I can't move. He comes closer, closer, closer... and suddenly, I can feel his breath on my neck from behind. I whimper pathetically, instantly angry at myself for not being able to keep it together. He starts speaking in a disdainful tone, although he doesn't sound like himself.

He sounds just like Marshall.

"I always thought that humans were doleful creatures," he licks my neck and breathes over it, and I shiver, "but I think you bring new meaning to the word." I feel my body heat up in anger, although I still can't respond. "While you do taste delicious, I was hoping you would be... different, but I can see you aren't. I wonder," he muses, running claws lightly up the side of my neck and back down, going to my shoulder, "what does anyone see in you?"

Hearing these words in Marshall's voice makes my heart shudder and shatter, and even though I know this isn't real, I can't keep the tears from pricking up in my eyes. The boy wraps his arms around me then, pulling my shirt up to expose my stomach and running claws over the flesh there, leaving light red trails behind. He's even closer to my neck than before, and I can feel his fangs tease my skin, and I want to slap him, punch him, do something, but I still can't move. He gets close to my ear, whispering suddenly. "I wonder what would happen were I to be in trouble," he says, and out of the corner of my eye, I see that he looks like Marshall again. My eyes widen in horror, and he continues. "It would be an interesting thing to see; you would probably be going insane."

I look up the path a little bit, and I see Marshall, crumpled on the ground and bleeding, but he isn't moving.

Then I can't keep myself silent any more. I start screaming for Marshall, trying to get him to get up or at least move, and I hear the boy chortle maliciously in my ear, and my eyes rip themselves open, seeing only my dark room once more. I can feel tears streaking down my cheeks, but I don't move to stop them. I sit straight up like that, unblinking and paralyzed. I don't think I was screaming out loud, thankfully; Cake is still asleep in her usual spot.

I don't think I can just sit around like this, so when my muscles unlock themselves and I can move my fingers enough to stop clenching the pelts on my bed in a death grip, I stand up shakily, stumbling as soon as I try to take a step. I fall halfway down, and steady myself on a ledge. I manage to make it to the stairs like this, leaning heavily on the wall. I'm not as tense as I was, so I can move better. I make my way over to the hatch that opens to the roof, and crawl out. I keep going until I get all the way on top of the house, and sprawl out, panting.

I still can't figure out what freaked me out so much about Marshall getting hurt. Sure, he's my best friend and all, and he's practically invincible; every time he does get hurt, he usually plans it. But I still don't react like that when someone gets hurt unless it's Cake, and that's understandable because she's my sister.

But still.

Marshall? He's not my brother, although he does seem like family at times. Cake and him don't fight as much as they used to, thankfully. I stare up at the sky, watching the stars, hoping they'll give me an answer. But they don't; they just continue to twinkle at me, and I sigh. "Damn you, Marshall Lee," I mutter. 'Invading my mind like this and junk.'

I hear the boy's last words before I woke up, hardly heard between his chortles and my screams: "I think I could hurt him even more just by using you, my dear."

I shudder, not wanting to know precisely what he meant by that. A breeze slips through the air, raising goosebumps on my arms, but I don't acknowledge their presence.

Being in the fresh air like this, I could almost fall asleep, and without fear of those nightmares, too. I slide back through the hatch in the roof, and after closing it, I go back to my bedroom, changing into my normal adventuring clothes, and go downstairs. I head to the kitchen and scrawl a message for Cake, then fold it and put it on my bed, where it stays standing up, and I hope she notices it. Not like I need her flipping the math out because I'm not home. I grab my bag, and after swinging it onto my shoulder, I go downstairs and stride out the door, leaving a few of my worries in the doorway.

* * *

If someone had been searching for me later, they would've found me in the same clearing I woke up in the other day with Marshall. It makes me feel calmer, and Marshall's presence lingers in the air, so I don't feel quite so alone. I sit down at the edge of the water and slide my feet into the water like I did the other day, sighing. It's much cooler than it was the other day, since it hadn't seen the sun for hours. I cup some of the water in my hands and splash my face, puffing out a breath and liking the feeling it leaves on my skin. I feel better immediately.

I had to admit, there was something strange about the pond, but I had no clue what it was. It also seemed completely familiar, but I couldn't put a finger on it.

I lay back on the grass, my hands folded over my stomach, feet still in the water. "I wonder what they want," I muse aloud. "Seems vampires are clearly involved. I wonder if something's going on in the Nightosphere." Then I pause. If this all went back to Marshall-and it clearly did-wouldn't he be notified as well? Surely it wasn't just me getting these dreams, and suddenly, I want to go see Marshall to ask him about it.

"He's going to get sick of you if you keep interrupting his life like this," I grumble at myself. "Seriously sick of you. Wait for him to come around."

I blink a few times, my eyelids suddenly heavy. I pull my legs out of the water and sit next to the tree I woke up under the other day, leaning against its smooth bark. I tilt my head up, looking through the leaves of the tree, and see the sky beyond. Only when the sky begins to lighten do I fall asleep, watching as the sun's light announces the birth of a new day.

* * *

The next thing I'm aware of is someone poking me annoyingly in the forehead. I growl quietly and roll the other way, not wanting to wake up.

"Get up, you lazy bum," a familiar voice chuckles.

"Go away, you annoying little pest," I mumble sleepily.

He chuckles again. "Not until you get up," he says, poking me in the neck. I tense up, rolling my shoulder up to cover where he poked, and roll over, glaring at him blearily.

"What could you possibly want? It's too early for this, Marshall Lee."

"Finally, you see things my way. Midday is way too early."

"Exactly," I mutter, curling back up on my side with my head on my bag.

"Oh, no you don't. I know Cake didn't wake me up in the middle of my nap, demanding to know where you were, for me to come and find you, and to have you fall asleep again."

"Yes, you did. I'm going back to sleep."

"No you aren't!" he cries, picking me up quickly, and my eyes fly open. Grinning, he tosses me in the pond.

"MARSHALL LEE!" I scream, absolutely livid. He better be glad this pond isn't deep; it comes up to my chest. I glare at him balefully, my hair falling in my eyes, while he snickers at me. "Get your ass over here so I can kick it!"

He floats over to me, wiggling his butt in front of me teasingly. I turn my glare on the water, blushing slightly, while he turns around t look at me and continues to laugh. I walk over to the opposite side of the pond and climb out. He's floating nearby with my bag on his shoulder while I do, offering a hand with a smile, but I ignore him, getting out by myself.

He appraises me for a moment, his eyes liquid reddish-brown. He turns away, muttering something under his breath, and floats off, opening his umbrella before he exits the cover of the trees. I run after him, my shoes squishing, demanding, "Where do you think you're going, after just tossing me in the pond like that?! You're just gonna walk off?"

He doesn't turn to look at me, but I can hear the smile in his voice when he says, "I promised Cake I'd bring you home."

Even with the sun out, a cool breeze rips through the air, and I shiver miserably. Marshall floats slower, letting me catch up with him. "Cold?" he asks.

"You could've woken me up without trying to give me pneumonia," I mumble.

"Oh, you'll dry. The sun's out."

Even though he's right, it's a cooler day. Nowhere near the usual heat around this time of year. I wonder if Ice Queen's up to her usual shenanigans, but it's not snowing-yet-so I can't blame her. I sigh heavily. "I just wanna go home now," I mewl despondently.

He frowns then, but stays quiet. When the tree house finally comes into view, I yank my shoes and stockings off and take off running. Marshall follows me slowly. The clouds have created a decent cover over the clouds, so he doesn't need his umbrella anymore. He must've put it in my bag a while back.

I throw the front door open, never so happy to see home like this. Cake comes into view and wraps her arms around me. "You're home, babycakes!" At first, she doesn't notice I'm wet, until she pauses for a second and jumps backwards. "Ewww why are you all wet?!"

I pause, and then slowly throw Marshall a glare over my shoulder. His eyes widen just infinitesimally, but he doesn't say anything. "I'm going to take a shower," I announce.

"Aww, but you just took a bath," Marshall complains, aiming for a joke, but I just frown and go upstairs. I hear Cake ask, "What happened?" and Marshall replies, "Oh, I threw her in a pond," and he laughs. An exasperated cry follows that, but no real response.

I pull off my still-wet clothes and simply toss them across the room, where they land in a pile. When I get in the shower, I don't linger. I make it quick, and when I get out, wrapped in a towel, I hunt around the room for something decent to wear because I had just remembered that today was the day of the date with Gumball. I had a bad feeling about it, but there wasn't much I could do.

I find an okay-looking dress in my closet, and pull it on, along with some white and gray striped leggings. The dress is a pretty sky blue, my favorite. It's strapless, too, and goes down to my knees. I pull on some clean looking black flats, and after putting on a simple chain necklace and putting my hair up in a side ponytail and putting on a sparkly bunny-eared headband, I figure I'm ready.

I walk downstairs to find Marshall still there. Cake is gone, but I don't know where she went. I think to ask Marshall where she went, but I don't.

I'm still kinda mad he threw me in water.

He looks over at me, and with slightly widened eyes, he murmurs, "You look pretty."

I nod once, not saying anything. Then I grab a retractable sword out of my bag, tuck it into a compartment on my thigh, and walk out the door without looking back.

* * *

When I get to the Candy Kingdom, Gumball is waiting with Lord Monochromicorn for me by the gates. He has a basket in one hand, which he lets Mochro take a second later, and he smiles when I approach. "Looking lovely as ever, my dearest Fionna."

I feel my cheeks warm slightly and give him a half-hearted, "Thanks."

He holds his arm out to me, and I take it. He helps me get up on Mochro, and when he gets on behind me, we take off. "Where are we going?" I ask.

I fall back against him as Mochro goes towards the sky for a moment, then levels out again. Gumball wraps his arms around me. "I think you'll enjoy it," he whispers in my ear.

I stay silent for the rest of the trip, not moving to get him off me. Instead, I look at the colors of the sky, which could be on fire from the blazing colors of oranges, pinks, yellows, and even tinges of reds and purples all over. The clouds look like cotton candy, dyed as they are with all the different colors. I smile, enjoying the light breeze. The grass below sways lightly, and the land passes below us, over all the different kingdoms. I see a pack of wolves running, and start grinning, remembering all the times me and Marshall have run with them, howling at the moon when it was up. I see other creatures running around, too, but they're pretty solitary and aren't causing too much trouble, so I just enjoy the ride.

When Mochro lands, near the ocean cliffs, I note, Gumball and I get off, and after giving the basket to Gumball, Mochro takes off into the sky again. A minute later, it's just me and Gumball. I look up towards the sky, where the sun is just ducking under the horizon for the night, and I smile. "Don't look yet," Gumball says. 'Wouldn't dream of it,' I think. 'The view is lovely from where I stand.'

He must be setting junk up, and I have no motives to move, so I don't. The only colors in the sky now are deep blues and purples. Finally, Gumball tells me I can turn around, and reluctantly, I do. He put a blanket down, and on it are some candles and various foods, mainly sweets. I feel like I must be drooling, and suddenly I'm aware that I haven't eaten for a while, so I go over and sit down across the candle flames and look at Gumball. He's smiling, and gestures for me to get something to eat. I attack the spaghetti first, and he gets some after I do. I remind myself that he's fancy and I can't just eat like an animal, so I deliberately take my time and eat slowly with a fork, although I'm dying to just plow it all in my mouth. When I'm finally done with my spaghetti, I start eyeing some sweets, and Gumball laughs. "You don't have to ask my permission, Fionna. Do as you wish," he says, smiling.

Something's off, but I don't know what it is, so I shrug it off and grab some kind of sweet roll. I bite into it, and my tastebuds sing a heavenly chorus of happiness. I close my eyes, enjoying the taste. "Enjoying yourself, Fionna?" Gumball asks in a sweet voice, and without opening my eyes, I nod. "Good," he purrs. "Where have your adventures taken you this week, I wonder?"

After finishing off the bun, I take something that has strawberries on top and eat just one of the strawberries. "Oh, me and Cake slayed a few beasts that were terrorizing some kingdoms, and Marsh and I hung out. It's actually been a pretty calm week," I muse. "Oh! I figured out who was behind those 'fire attacks' on the kingdom!"

"Oh, do tell, Fionna!"

"It was the Prince of the Fire Kingdom. He said he was just trying to see how a kingdom should be run, because his mom is evil and she's corrupted the entire kingdom. Things aren't the way they used to be. None of the citizens are very happy, and when he finally gets to rule, he wants to fix it," I tell him, smiling as I take a bite of the strawberry dessert.

"Oh. I see," he murmurs, lost in thought, apparently. He stares out toward the ocean for a bit, and in the silence, I find myself trying every single dessert he brought. But when he doesn't say anything for a little while, I get a bit worried.

"Gumball? Is everything okay?"

He doesn't react for a minute, but then he shakes his head. "Sorry, I got lost in thought," he murmurs. There's a certain emptiness in his eyes now that has me definitely worried. "Nothing is wrong; everything is fine," he says.

Yep, it definitely has me worried.

I blink twice, and try to shake it off as paranoia, but it is very persistent and urgent, and won't go away. He looks at me suddenly, smiling. "Fionna," he murmurs.

"Um, yeah?" I ask, my voice wavering.

"I wanted to tell you," he says, coming closer to me, avoiding the dishes on the blanket and the candles in the middle of it all, "I've always had feelings towards you."

The way he's approaching me has me backing up quickly, towards the cliffs. "Uhh-"

He stands up, still walking towards me. He's too close, now. I get up too, still backing up. "I've always liked you," he continues, "But I never knew how to tell you. You're beautiful, strong, courageous, everything I'm not."

"Gumball-"

He puts a hand to my mouth, and leans down, our faces inches apart. "I've always loved you. But I found that Marshall was always getting in the way," he murmurs, laughing coldly. "Always getting in our way."

I try to mumble something around his hand, but then he suddenly removes his hand, and he's kissing me.

I'd always fantasized about this kind of thing, me kissing Gumball, but it's nothing near what I had thought.

It was only worse.

He was too forceful, crushing his lips against my frozen ones urgently. He has one hand on my lower back, the other on my neck, drawing me closer. He pulls back for a second to whisper my name, then goes in again, nipping and running his tongue along my lips.

Then the hand on my back disappears, and my eyes, still wide open, staring, unable to move at all, widen even more.

The next thing I'm aware of is a searing pain in my stomach. I groan, and Gumball has already pulled back, a horrified expression on his face.

"Why..?" I whisper.

"Fionna," he whispers back, his voice still stricken, reaching an arm out towards me. I stagger backwards, half falling, half just trying to get away from him.

I end up falling off the cliff I'd been balanced precariously on, and Gumball reaches out, trying to catch me, and he shouts my name.

I look down and see the blood soaking the front of my dress, and I see the dagger sticking out of my stomach, and I close my eyes, almost enjoying the sensation of falling. Then I hit the water, and I see only black.

* * *

**A/N: So I am aware that this chapter is very long, and I was tempted to cut it in half, but you know what, you guys can just deal with it. xD**

**A/N 2: Teehee~ Cliffhanger~ 3**


	5. Chapter 5: Recovery

**Chapter 5: Recovery**

**Fionna's POV**

I don't fight the current of the water. Mainly because I'm too paralyzed from fear of the water, and partially because I can't bring myself to fight it. It's almost peaceful, once you get past the burning in your nose and chest.

Since the sun's set, it's so dark I can't see anything at all. I feel blood seeping out of the wound in my stomach, and internally I curse Gumball for this, but I don't scream or shout or anything. I just give up.

I wouldn't have been able to move anyways, but the water is pretty cold for early autumn, and some part of me knows Ice Queen is behind it all.

I always thought that I would die in some epic battle, but then again, I'd always thought I could never be beat. Water always was my weakness. But I never thought I would die from it.

Oh well.

And just when I close my eyes to let death take me, my head breaks the surface of the water. How is that possible? I didn't simply float to the top. Someone's screaming for my to open my eyes and look at them, but I can't bring myself to. I feel wind whipping against my freezing skin, and I want to shiver, but I'm so numb I can't even do that. Somehow, I manage to feel the ground beneath my back, and then there's pressure on my chest, once, twice, three times, and then the lightest pressure on my lips.

I still can't react.

Am I even breathing?

The voice is still frantic, demanding me to wake up. I frown internally at this; this voice should never have so much fear in it. But still, the muscles in my face are far too cold for frowning.

I hear someone else running towards me quickly, demanding to know if I'm okay. The first voice hisses and screams at them to go away, screaming, "It's all your fault!" There's the hesitation for a moment from the second person, and the first one goes back to trying to get me to actually breathe. I feel more pressure on my chest, and he must be trying to hear my heart.

He sits back, panting; I guess my heartbeats were too discreet for even him to hear. "Dammit, I was too late..." he chuckles sadly. "Damn it, Fi. Why couldn't you stay out of danger, just for a little while?"

I feel myself slipping away, but I demand myself to stay. I force myself to stay alive. If only for his sake. I force my heart to keep beating; his voice should never sound so defeated.

It takes a minute, but I'm breathing, very shallowly, probably undetectably so. There's still water in my lungs, so it's difficult. I open my eyes just enough to see him, and sure enough, there's Marshall. His black hair is wet, clinging to his forehead while he shakes his head slowly. I end up choking and start coughing before I can say anything, and he looks up immediately, with a somewhat disbelieving expression on his face. He helps me sit up a little bit so I can cough easier. He pats my back carefully, and I wince when I sit up too far, noting the dagger still embedded in my stomach. When I reach my hand up to cover my next cough, it comes away bloody.

"Oh glob, Fi. I thought you were dead..."

I shake my head, unable to say anything. He picks me up and flies off quickly. "We gotta get you to someone who can take care of you."

My eyes widen, and he looks down at me in understanding. "Not Gumball."

I curl up carefully and fist my hands into his shirt, shivering. "I wasn't sure if I should remove the dagger; it might be helping to keep some of the blood in..." he murmurs. I nod my head comprehendingly. I'm having a hard time seeing straight; everything's blurring badly. I let my head fall against his shoulder, and he murmurs to me that we'll be there soon. I look up, my eyes asking, 'where?'

His eyebrows furrow, and he says decidedly, "Cake. She'll know what to do, right? I mean, you guys have had wounds like this before?" I nod, my eyes falling shut. "Fi, please don't fall asleep. I don't know what I'll do if you don't wake up," he whispers. I try to follow his instructions, but it's not easy. I'm so tired...

A little while later found me on my couch, Cake trying to staunch the flow of blood after removing the dagger. "I hope she didn't rupture anything," she mutters. "Gumball could help-" she says, before she notes the fierce glare from Marshall. I can't keep my eyes open anymore, and I let them close again. Marshall moves to keep me awake, but Cake stops him, saying I can sleep if I want.

"What if she doesn't wake up, Cake?" Marshall asks, his voice laced with misery.

"She will, Marshall. She's been through a lot tonight; she just needs to rest. I've almost cleaned up this wound, and luckily, I don't think she did rupture anything," she murmurs. It was crazy to think that her voice was so even and calm, especially after I had come home, and she thought I was dead at first. She was freaking out, to say the least.

Marshall pauses. When she's done wrapping the wound, he picks me up and carries me upstairs, and puts me in my bed. Cake asks him to leave for a minute so she can change me. I whimper, telling her I can do it myself, but she strips off my soaked clothes and changes me quickly, being extremely careful around my stomach. A few minutes later, I'm tucked in my bed, still shivering, but warmer than I was. Marshall comes in as soon as Cake opens the door and floats over to me. I manage to open my eyes and give him a weak smile. "I'm fine, Marsh," I whisper, my throat raw and sore.

"You should see how you look right now. You're still pretty blue, bunny," he murmurs.

"I think I've had worse," I tell him.

"No, I don't think you have." He pauses for a minute, and his voice drops even more, anguish audible. "I thought I was too late. I thought you were... dead..." he chokes on the last word.

I move my hand to reach for him, and he comes close, sitting on the edge of my bed. "I'm fine," I whisper.

He puts a hand on my forehead and trails it down to my cheek. "You're freezing, Fi," he murmurs, grabbing another blanket and covering me with it.

I manage a weak chuckle. "Yeah, I know."

"How did this... happen? Did PG get mad at you or something? I got there at last minute, and I barely heard you hit the water before I threw myself off that cliff to get you."

I don't say anything for a minute. "I don't know. He got so close I thought he was going to... kiss me... and then he just..." I trail off.

He doesn't say anything, but I see his eyes practically light on fire. "Marsh..." I murmur.

"Yeah?"

"Stay... with me," I murmur, my voice garbled with sleep.

He looks down at me, looking surprised. "... Anything for you, bunny," he murmurs, and I register him kissing my forehead before I fall off the edge and sleep finally claims me.

When I wake up, sunlight is beating against the curtains, but not quite breaking through. I look around, but no one's in the room. I stare at the ceiling for a while, contemplating what to do, when Cake peeks her head in and I turn my head to look at her. Her eyes fill with tears before she flings herself at me. She lands on the edge of the bed, and she starts crying on my shoulder. "Oh my glob, Fi, I thought I was gonna lose you! When I came home last night, you weren't here, and then not even an hour later, Marshall comes in the door with you and I thought you were dead!" she sobs, and I try to reach her to calm her down, but I can't quite reach.

"It's okay, Cake. I'm fine," I whisper, my throat hurting more than before. I cough to clear it, and she looks up at me before starting to cry even harder.

"Oh my glob! You sound horrible!" she cries. "You look horrible too!"

'Gee, thanks...' I think. 'I wonder how you would look and sound if you got stabbed and almost drowned...'

Instead of commenting on this, I shake my head. "I'm fine, Cake. Stop crying, you're soaking me," I mutter. "Where's Marshall?"

"Right here," he calls quietly, standing in the doorway. "I heard your crying all the way downstairs, so that meant either she was dead or she woke up. Either way, I figured I'd come up, but I was really hoping for the second option," he says with a chuckle. He float over and sits on the other side of the bed while Cake rubs at her eyes and sniffles. "How are you feeling?" he asks.

I shrug, still too tired to say much. "How long was I out?"

"Hmm, probably like sixteen hours," he mutters. "Took you long enough to wake up..."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Near-drowning experiences wear me out," I tell him, sarcasm coating my voice. My voice cracks twice and it's still raspy-sounding, emphasizing my point.

He sighs. "Sorry Fi. I wish I'd gotten there sooner." He looks over at Cake. "Can you get her something to eat? She's probably starving."

Cake nods quickly and sprints out the room. "Speaking of which, why were you there, anyways?" I ask. "Not that I'm complaining."

"You didn't notice Ice Queen's clouds gathering?" he asks, looking confused. "I was on my way home, and they passed by, heading towards the cliffs. I followed, figuring you'd be too busy to notice them. Which apparently, you were."

"That's weird; I didn't see them at all. I knew she had something to do with it," I mutter.

Marshall shrugs. "I'm just glad you aren't dead."

"Me too; who would protect Aaa if I was gone?" I wonder.

"Of course that's what you'd be worried about," he mutters.

I nod vigorously. "Of course that's what I'd be worried about! Aaa is my home! Someone has to watch over it for me!"

He chuckles at the conviction in my voice. "Well, I'm sure someone would watch it for you."

Cake comes in then with a bowl that she hands to me. I attempt to sit up, and, noting my efforts, Marshall helps me, adjusting my pillows so I'll be comfortable. The soup Cake made tastes pretty good, but it burns my throat, so after the first bite, I set it aside to let it cool.

"Too hot for you, Fi?" Marshall teases.

"Yes, it is, Marshall."

"Maybe I should leave so you don't get overheated," he laughs.

"You may be hot, but you aren't so hot that you need to leave," I sniff and put my nose in the air, then can't hold back my laughter and end up laughing.

He laughs with me, and I look over at Cake. "If you want to, you can go see Mochro," I tell her. "Marshall can watch me for a bit, right Marsh?" I ask, looking at him.

He nods. "Sure, why not?"

Cake looks at me, excitement widening her eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I won't be doing much besides eating, anyways."

She hugs me. "Thank you, Fi! Thank you!" she cries before dashing out the door and down the stairs.

I sigh heavily. "At least she'll be gone for a little while and I can breathe," I mutter.

Marshall looks over at me with amusement. "Need anything? Do you hurt?"

"Just a little bit, but don't call any clown nurses to help me," I say, shuddering at the memory.

He laughs. "Wouldn't dream of it, bunny."

The rest of the day consisted of us playing BMO and pigging out on whatever was around the house. When it got close to being dark outside, I asked him to take me up to the roof so I could enjoy the night breeze. He agreed, bringing two blankets and a pillow to make sure I was comfortable, and he made sure to make me promise we would be back inside before Cake came home. Neither of us wanted to suffer her wrath.

When we got up on the roof, it was considerably warmer than yesterday had been when I went on that date with Gumball. I was still kind of cold, though, so Marshall let me lean on him and I pulled a blanket up to my chin, feeling warmer, and I hug the pillow. "Sorry I kept you here all day, Marsh. I know it probably wasn't much fun."

"Nah, I like hanging out with you, Fi. I wasn't planning on doing anything today anyways."

I snuggle up next to him when a breeze comes, and he puts his arm around my shoulder comfortingly. "I don't think I ever got to thank you properly," I murmur. "Thank you for saving me, Marshall Lee."

He pulls me closer. "No problem, Fi."

When it goes quiet,-which I really don't mind; it's kinda nice, actually-Marshall starts pointing out some constellations, now that the stars mustered enough courage to show their faces. He shows me where the Big Dipper is, where the smaller one is, he shows me where someone he calls "the chained lady" is, and he shows me many more. One of my favorites is Draco, because it looks like a dragon. My absolute favorite one is Gemini, and when Marshall asks why, I tell him, "Well, they can always count on one another. They'll never be alone. The other constellations don't have a partner, do they?"

He shakes his head. "I suppose they don't." He stops to consider the constellation, and looks down at me. "I see your point. They are very lucky."

I nod. "They really are." And then I cuddle up next to him again, and he makes this noise-really, it could've been considered a purr-that has me blushing like a tomato.

* * *

**Marshall's POV**

I don't think I've ever been as terrified in my life as I was that moment I found Fi, blood seeping from her wound and staining the water around her. I thought she was already dead, but I had to at least try. That moment when I felt I was going to cave in because I thought that no matter what I did, she wasn't waking up was even worse. I put my head on her chest, trying to hear her heartbeat, but only silence greeted me.

I've never been so angry at anyone as I was that moment when Gumball had the nerve to try to walk up to us, when he was the cause of her getting hurt. I was so angry I was seeing red, and if I hadn't been scared that I was going to lose Fi if I gave up, I would've chased him down and killed him right there.

I've never felt so warm inside as I was when Fi told me to stay with her last night, or how warm I was when she cuddled up next to me on the roof when she told me why she loved Gemini.

Yet none of that compared-well, except for the fact that Fi was cuddling next to me-to the relief I felt when she started coughing, and I look down to see that her eyes are fixed on me, like I was the cause that made her keep going and keep fighting to get back.

Of course, I knew she was only looking at me like that because I had just brought her back to life and I was the closest thing nearby, but still, it was so alleviating to see that she was looking at me. I didn't want to move the dagger because I was scared that that was what was keeping her tied to the world, so I flew her home. Cake, of course, was a complete mess, until I told her that Fi needed help-now.

I was pretty worried by this point, because on the way home, she kept falling asleep, and I was so scared of her slipping from my grasp that I made her stay awake. I knew she was exhausted, but she had to stay awake. She just had to.

I waited outside her room while Cake quickly redressed her, and as soon as Cake opened that door, my eyes were searching for her.

She's never looked so broken in her life, or so small, and it made my chest get all tight to see her like that, but I had to keep my emotions in check, if only for her sake. Cake had taken her bunny hat off, and her beautiful golden hair fell down her face, bunching up and nestling against her shoulders. We talked for a little bit, but I knew she was exhausted, so I let her drift off to sleep.

She slept for sixteen hours.

I stayed by her side as she asked me to for half of them. Cake came in eventually and told me that I could go downstairs, and although I didn't want to, I knew it was her own subtle way of saying, 'Hey, I want some time with her.'

So I left the room, knowing that I wasn't the only one suffering from this event. I went downstairs and distracted myself with monitoring Fi's breathing, even from down here. It hitched sometimes, and it sent tremors through me, but it always evened back out. I breathed a sigh of relief every time. She murmured things in her sleep, mainly someone's name, but usually it was just cursing Gumball, and I laughed quietly each and every time she did so. I grabbed an apple from the kitchen and sucked the red out of it slowly and absently. I heard Cake heave a sigh as she got up some time later, and she came back downstairs to eat something. After she did so, she fell asleep on the couch, apparently tired from this occasion too.

I went upstairs-to keep an eye on her, or so I told myself-and floated in the air, not far from her. "I hope you know we're waiting for you, Fi," I murmur, not wanting to wake her up. "I'll guard you here and now, and every day after. I won't let anyone hurt you, ever again."

When the sun is beginning to come up, I pull the heavy curtains closed, not wanting the sun to wake her up. Fi moans quietly as she rolls over, and I hope she didn't curl up too tight on her wound or anything. She chuckles the next minute, and murmurs, "Marshy," in her sleep, and I stare at her, dumbfounded. I suppose it was different hearing it from downstairs than actually being in the room with her.

I decide to go back downstairs when I hear Cake's breathing start to pick up, meaning she'll be awake soon. I float towards the ceiling, avoiding the afternoon sun streaming through the windows. Cake wakes up a few minutes later, and after stretching, she goes upstairs to check on Fi.

As soon as she opens the door, I hear her pause, and then I hear crying accompanied by her feet hitting the floor quickly. "Running towards Fi," I murmur. "Seems we're all doing that lately."

I float up the stairs slowly, not wanting to seem like a creeper, and when I hear her ask about me, I show up in the doorway, smiling. "Here," I say.

After making sure that Fi eats something, she tells Cake that she can go see Mochro, and when the cat leaves, we spend the rest of the day doing whatever she wants.

Later, just after the sun has set, Fi asks me to take her up to the roof, and I do, after grabbing a couple blankets and a pillow. I put the first blanket on the roof so she can sit comfortably, and then I set her down, and she scoots close to me, using my arm as her pillow. We spend part of the night talking, and then some more of it with me pointing out constellations to her. Her favorites are Draco and Gemini.

I like the reason she loves Gemini, and I admit, it makes me feel warmer inside, and then when she's done explaining why she likes it, she cuddles even closer to me. Glob, I love it when she does that. I let out a quiet rumble of happiness, and I feel her cheeks warm up. I chuckle quietly.

Glob I love her.

Why can't I just tell her that? I mean, I'm not really an emotions guy, but you'd think I'd at least be able to say that much. I sigh inwardly, and when it gets a little bit later, I take her back inside, not wanting to have to face Cake later. I put her back on her bed, and she frowns slightly.

I know how she feels.

I sit down on the edge of her bed, and she asks me to sing for her, so I do.

_I'm waking up to ash and dust_

_I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust_

_I'm breathing in the chemicals_

_I'm breaking in, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus_

_This is it, the apocalypse_

_Whoa_

_I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones_

_Enough to make my systems blow_

_Welcome to the new age, to the new age_

_Welcome to the new age, to the new age_

_Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive_

_Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive_

_I raise my flags, don my clothes_

_It's a revolution, I suppose_

_We're painted red to fit right in_

_Whoa_

_I'm breaking in, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus_

_This is it, the apocalypse_

_Whoa_

_I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones_

_Enough to make my systems blow_

_Welcome to the new age, to the new age_

_Welcome to the new age, to the new age_

_Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive_

_Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive_

_All systems go, the sun hasn't died_

_Deep in my bones, straight from inside_

_I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones_

_Enough to make my systems blow_

_Welcome to the new age, to the new age_

_Welcome to the new age, to the new age_

_Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive_

_Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive_

She grins. "I love that song."

"Really? Have you heard it before?"

"Yeah, you sang it at one of PG's balls. It's amazing."

I smile. "Thanks, Fi."

"Anytime, Marsh," she says, pecking me on the cheek.

I sit there for a second. "Would you like anything to eat?" I ask her, standing up.

"Sure, whatever you can find," she say, smiling.

"Mkay, be right back." I walk out of the room, and as soon as I do, I sigh in relief. I thought I was going to explode; sparks were flying, I swear it.

Okay, maybe not, but she kissed me on the cheek, and I didn't know what to do.

I walk downstairs, contemplating on what to get her. I settle on some soup, and while it's heating up, I suck the red out of an apple nervously. When the soup's done, I put it on a tray next to some crackers, grab a spoon, and take it back upstairs. She's sitting there calmly, waiting on me. I hand the tray to her, and she smiles, thanking me for it. "No problem," I murmur.

We sit there in peaceful silence, and I yawn. It's been a while since I was tired at night.

Okay, so this was pretty much the first time it's happened, but still.

Fi's looking pretty tired, too, and when she's done with her soup, her eyelids start to droop, so I take her tray back downstairs and come back up. She blinks, trying to keep her eyes open, but it's not going well. "Will you stay here again?" she asks in a murmur.

"I can if you want me to," I tell her.

She nods. "You should stay."

I float over and tuck her into her bed, fixing her pillows so she's not at such an awkward angle. She curls up and snuggles into her blankets. When I go to pull my arm back, she grabs it and holds it close to her chest. "You aren't going anywhere," she murmurs sleepily, looking up at me with eyes glazed over from exhaustion.

I blink a few times, not sure what to do, but I sit on that side of the bed. She murmurs something that sounds like appreciation.

I brush some hair that had fallen in her eyes out of the way and tuck it behind her ear. She isn't asleep yet, although she's trying. "Sleep, bunny," I whisper in her ear, and a minute later, she's asleep.

Her grip on my arm tightens at first, but eventually it loosens just enough for me to pry it away from her-although I don't want to; I'd be content to sleep on her bed, protecting her from everything, but I was kinda scared of Cake, and I didn't want to apply the wrong idea-, and I slip away. I look down at her, and she's frowning heavily, her hands clenching into fists as she grabs air. Her frown deepens, and her eyebrows furrow together, and I chuckle. 'You're adorable, Fi,' I think.

I decide to still sleep in the room with her, since Cake isn't home. I go downstairs, grab a few blankets and some extra pillows, and go back upstairs. I find a space against the wall, put a blanket down, and settling my head on the pillow and stretching on the floor, I heave a sigh. Sure, it's not comfortable, but my energy is far too gone to float above my sleeping space like I'd do on other occasions. It felt nice to burrow down in the blankets, anyways.

They smelled like Fi.

I breathe in deeply, smiling.

I look up at Fi, who's still frowning. I chuckle again and close my eyes, allowing sleep to claim me.

When I wake up again, it's almost afternoon. I look up, searching for Fi, and there she is, grinning at me. "Took you long enough to wake up, Sleeping Beauty," she teases.

I run a hand through my hair. "I thought a prince woke her up. Oh glob, a guy didn't kiss me, right?" I demand, faking panic.

She laughs. "Nope."

I sigh in fake relief. "Oh thank glob." I stand up, stretching. "Want anything to eat?"

"Yes please."

"Did Cake ever come back?" I wonder.

"I haven't seen her," Fi says as I walk out of her bedroom. I go downstairs and get her some ice cream and a sandwich. Probably not the healthiest, but she'll like it. I find some strawberries in the fridge and go back upstairs. I put her tray down in front of her, and she says, "Oh thank glob! Delicious food!"

I chuckle and sit down in a chair, sucking the red out of the strawberries. "If Cake asks, I fed you soup."

"Yup!" she agrees, taking a bite of ice cream. "What do you want to do today?" she asks.

"Hmm, I should probably go home today to get some different clothes and take a shower," I say with a slightly disgusted sigh. Then I remember something. "Hey, weren't you supposed to go meet that flame guy or whatever?"

She sighs. "I just remembered that this morning, but there's not really much I can do. Cake won't even let me walk much yet because she's terrified I'll reopen the wound or tear something. I feel like a baby all over again," she pouts.

I chuckle. "We can figure something out. If you really need me to, I'll go over there and tell the dork that you'll have to reschedule."

"You don't have to go there if you don't want to. I know you want to kill Gumball for this."

I sigh. "So you've discovered my main motive, but I won't kill him unless you want me to. Besides, I'm willing to bet that that flame guy will come to the Candy Kingdom every night until you show up. Did you see his face?" I ask, my chest tightening in anger remembering it.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Either that, or he'll figure out where I live and stalk me," she mutters, looking annoyed.

I laugh. "That won't happen."

"I wouldn't be too sure; he seemed persistent to me."

"Under any circumstances, as soon as Cake gets back, I'm going to go home to take care of some junk." She finishes her meal and hands me the tray. "I feel like a maid," I grumble.

"At least I'm not forcing you to wear the outfit," she chuckles.

"You couldn't make me wear that if I were dead," I growl.

She laughs. "I think Cake will be home soon."

"Good," I say, stretching. I put the tray down on her side table. "I'll take care of that in a bit. How's your stomach looking?" I ask.

"Well, it itches because Cake had to use stitches," she mutters. I turn around so she can inspect it, and after looking at it for a minute, she sighs. "That looks just fantastic. At least I get a new scar, I guess," she grumbles.

"How many stitches?"

"I think ten... ish."

"Hmm. Nice."

She puts her head back on the pillow, sighing heavily. "I don't like feeling so lazy."

I float around the room, chuckling. "I love being lazy."

"When you can't get out of bed except to go to the bathroom, you'll understand how I feel."

"Take more potty breaks," I tell her, laughing.

"I want to do more than just go to the bathroom. I'd like to be able to go outside, feel the sun on my face, be able to stand up and hug people, do whatever."

"Too bad you don't have my awesome healing capabilities; you would've been out of bed forever ago."

"Oh yeah, Marsh. Go right ahead and rub it in my face."

"Sorry bunny," I murmur.

"That's crap, and both of us know it," she grumbles.

I mess up her hair. "When Cake gets home, I bet she'll let you take a shower and let you run around the house a bit," I reassure her.

She considers this. "Well then, she better get home like, now."

I float right above her, on my stomach so I can see her. I put my chin in my hands. "Sorry Fi; I'd let you, but I'd rather not get yelled at by her. It would be fun to tease her if it weren't about your health."

She rolls her eyes. "Whatever."

I smile and kiss the top of her head quickly. "I'll go get BMO so I can kick your butt, and it'll help pass the time."

She nods, and I leave the room, coming back a minute later with BMO. We play games, her beating me nonstop, until I hear footsteps approaching the house. "I think Cake's home," I murmur, effectively killing my player again. I hop up and go to greet her. She walks in the door, looking kinda tired. "Welcome home, Cake," I say welcomingly.

She looks at me with suspicion. "Who are you, and what have you done with Marshall?" she demands.

I laugh. "Fi's been waiting for you. I'm gonna go home to change and junk. She wants to get up and stuff. I haven't let her," I tell her when she begins to look angry, "but if you let her take a shower and at least come downstairs, I'm sure she'll feel even better. Just don't let her stitches get wet," I warn.

She nods. "Fine, vampire. You'll be back in a while, I presume?"

"You presume correctly," I say, taking up a red umbrella in my hand. I open it and step outside. "See you guys in a little while."

It's actually pretty late by this time; when I'm going back to Fi's, the sun will have set, so I won't really need the umbrella anymore. I feel nice and refreshed after a nice shower, and I brought extra clothes in case I were to need them. There's something dark and ominous in the forest, but I don't feel scared in any way. I scoff aloud, and chuckle at some people's idiocy.

"You know we're coming," a voice hisses from the trees.

I laugh. "Have fun with that."

"Oh, we will," it replies, sounding as though they were excited for their deaths.

I float along, knowing they're watching me, but not really caring. "Why don't you come on out now?" I question with a dark smile.

"Oooh, so tempting, but that would go against the master's orders and ruin the plan," the voice replies scathingly.

"Ah, but if you die, who cares what 'the master' thinks?"

"Others would have to pay for my infidelity, and I can't have that happening, now can I?" the voice asks, and I see a glint of dangerous red eyes in the trees.

"Don't tell me they captured your lovely wife and children," I laugh cynically.

"All that I once had and cherished has perished. It is simply for the others of my race that I stay my hand. I'd rather not have to deal with them in the afterlife."

"Coward," I jeer.

"However you see it," they murmur darkly, "you will know our pain one of these days. You can't keep running."

"I never ran. The others have simply failed to catch up."

"Again, it's all about perspective. Either way, you can't protect that dear human of your's forever."

I snarl. "What does she have to do with this?" I demand.

"Oh, everything. Your demise, pain, and suffering. You can't hold your title forever, Vampire King," they snarl before leaving abruptly.

It probably would've been wiser on my part to play that little bit off coolly, but what was the point when they already knew what she meant to me? Even if I simply stopped talking to her and avoided her, they would know what she means, and they wouldn't let her alone until I fell.

I feel my eyebrows slam together on my forehead in my contemplation. I keep floating towards Fi's house, only at a quicker pace than before.

If anyone hurt her, there would be hell to pay.

* * *

**A/N: And there's chapter 5! I am quite aware that most (if not all) of you know what song I used, but I have to put it here just in case some butt tries to come up and say I used it without permission -.- The song used was Radioactive by Imagine Dragons. I know it probably doesn't make sense, but I was listening to that song while writing this chapter, and I had to put it in there. Also, Marshall hasn't sung for a while, so I figured he should use those wonderful, WONDERFUL vocal chords of his. o o**


	6. Chapter 6: Meetings

**Chapter 6: Meetings**

**Fionna's POV**

I glance out the window of my room, satisfied after taking my shower. Cake still had to help me, and although she hated getting wet, she knew it had to be done, so I was grateful. I stretch and groan when my joints pop. It's a pretty decent day outside; I wish I could be out there.

But of course, Cake said no, so I'm stuck in here.

I guess I should be lucky she even let me come downstairs; then again, she had carried me down here, so it's not like I've actually gotten to stretch my legs. She was now curled up in a ray of sunshine, taking a nap. I couldn't really blame her; by this time, I was pretty worn out, too.

My stomach was healing nicely, but it was still kind of sensitive to touch. Within the next few days, if I was careful, I could walk around without worrying about reopening the nasty wound.

I lay back carefully on the couch, leaning against a fluffy pillow, and I close my eyes with a sigh. There were a lot of things to be done; the land was getting attacked all over the place since their heroine was kinda out of commission at the moment. Cake had been doing what she could, but she said it wasn't very easy without me there.

At the moment, I was just extremely bored. I had played all the games on BMO already, and Marshall had only been gone for about an hour or two, so unless he was in some huge rush, he wouldn't be back for a little while.

I decided that since Cake was asleep, I could at least slip into the kitchen if I was careful, so I got up slowly and hobbled my way into it, leaning heavily on the counter when I finally get there. Not getting out of bed for the past few days had certainly affected me. My balance was pretty off, and it hurt to bend too far in any certain direction. I stretch my arms again, and reach for an apple. I bite into it, humming happily at its juicy flavor. It felt great to eat something besides soup; I wasn't sick, I was just injured. I heave a sigh, and walk over to the fridge to look for something to drink.

There isn't much in there, just some milk and juice, so I settle for water instead. Besides, it's healthier, I guess. Not like I actually care.

After lazily sipping down some cold water, I feel much better. The sun's starting to go down by the time I head back to the living room with a bag of chips handy. I move carefully so they don't crinkle and wake Cake up. When I get back to where I was originally, I put the chips on the table and lay back down like I had been earlier, suddenly tired. I yawn loudly, stretch again, and slide down under my blanket, deciding to take a short nap.

**Marshall's POV**

I don't really bother knocking on the door; I just go up to Fi's bedroom, listen for a second to see if she's in there or not, and when I distinguish that she isn't, I float in her open window. I put my stuff down near where I had slept last time and work my way downstairs. The first thing I see is Cake, asleep in a chair, where the sun would've recently been hitting. I look around for Fi, and noting the chips on the table, I guess she's on the couch.

I float over silently, intent on scaring her, but when I get to the couch and look down, I realize that she's asleep.

Okay, I'll admit; she looked completely adorable. She was curled up on her side, in a ball. Her hair was free of its hat, framing her sleeping face and spilling off the edge of the couch. One hand was fisted into her blanket, which was pulled up to her chin; the other was gripping the pillow under her head. Right then, her nose wrinkled up, and her lips formed a half-pout. I chuckle silently at her; she's too cute sometimes. She was snoring lightly as well; it made her all the more endearing.

Her face smoothed out as I chuckled, and I wondered if she had realized I was here, even though she wasn't awake. I stretch and float lazily around the room. I start thinking over what's happened in the last few days, and I think to myself that Fi must be dying to go outside; she's never been one to just sit around. I look down at her, smiling. It's crazy to think sometimes that we're such good friends; vampires and humans typically hate each other, right?

I guess I got lucky.

I feel my eyebrows furrow together. What had made Gumball go off the way he did? Why did he just randomly stab Fi like that? It didn't make any sense; she was the heroine of the land, and one of Gumball's very best friends. She had saved the land countless times, and he just randomly stabs her? Sure, I'm still beyond pissed that he did it, but it still doesn't add up.

Fi becomes pretty restless then, turning over repeatedly and moaning quietly. I float down and stroke her hair comfortingly and softly, not wanting to wake her up; the poor girl needs her sleep.

She seems to calm down for the most part then, going back to her light snoring, and she fists her hands into the blanket again. I stroke her hair for a few more minutes, and then go sit at the end of the couch, putting my head back tiredly. It'd been another long day, and I was looking forward to sleeping tonight.

I hoped, at least.

I had almost drifted off to sleep when I heard Fi whimper. I blink blearily and look over at her; she was still curled up in a tense ball on her side. Maybe she'd upset her wound? No; I couldn't smell any blood.

"Marsh, no..." she whimpered again.

I blink rapidly at her. 'Dreaming about me again, eh Fi?' I wonder.

I look around the room; Cake must have left earlier. She wasn't in the spot I had last seen her. I look back at Fi, and her face is scrunched up in what looks like pain. I float close to her, not sure if I should wake her or not.

"Marsh," she calls again, sounding more frantic than before.

I put my hand on her shoulder, deciding to wake her up. I shake her lightly, and she doesn't wake up at first. "Fi, wake up," I call softly.

She whimpers again and says something even I don't understand, before shuddering.

I shake her again, and when she doesn't wake up, I float backwards, contemplating what I should do.

"Marsh!" she calls, sitting bolt upright, gasping. She looks around wildly, before setting her sapphire gaze on me.

I float to her quickly, stroking her hair in a calming manner. "It's okay, Fi. I'm here," I murmur, sitting next to her. She shivers again before leaning against me, her head on my shoulder.

She doesn't say anything for a while, so we sit there like that; her head on my shoulder while I continue to stroke her hair.

"Thanks, Marsh," she murmurs eventually. I nod, staying silent. It's nice, just sitting here with her. "Where's Cake?"

I shrug. "I don't know. I know she was here a little bit ago, but I guess she left."

She stretches and yawns. "Oh," she replies simply, grabbing the bag of chips from the table.

"How's the wound?" I ask.

"Oh, it's okay, I guess. I haven't really looked at it," she murmurs, eating a few chips. "Cake hasn't complained, so it can't be bad."

"I see," I chuckle.

Fi zones out for a minute, and then she smacks her forehead with a groan. "Glob it! I forgot all about FP!"

I chuckle again. "Well, there's not much you can do in your current condition."

"When Cake gets back she can take me," Fi grumbles. "I can't just sit here and do nothing."

"Oh, Fi, you don't really have to worry about anything; you got injured. He can just deal with it," I croon in her ear, holding back a chuckle when she blushes. "Not like you guys were going on a date or anything," I say, back to my normal tone.

She nods. "I suppose that's true; still, I feel bad."

"Well, Cake will probably be back soon, and you won't have to feel bad anymore."

"Help me upstairs?" she asks. "I might as well go ahead and get dressed."

"Sure," I say, standing up and holding my arm out so she can get up too.

She makes it up the stairs pretty easily; I stay right behind her in case she decides to fall. "Thanks Marsh!" she chirps when we get to the top and goes to her room. I wonder vaguely if she'll need help changing, and as if she had read my mind, she says with a blush, "If I need help, I'll call for you. Stay right here just in case." And then she closes her door.

I can hear her struggling a few minutes later, a few bit out "ouch"es and other such comments made frequently, but like the good boy I can pretend to be, I stay out, listening in case she calls. She pauses, and I think I hear her mutter a curse under her breath, and she calls for me.

I walk in calmly, and she's sitting on her bed, fully clothed, panting and red-faced. "Have fun, Fi?" I ask.

"Ha, ha," she bites out sarcastically. "Can you grab those boots over there? I need help putting them on because I can't exactly bend down right now."

"No problem, Bunny," I murmur, retrieving them. I sit down on the floor in front of her and ease one foot into the boot, and set to lacing it up. "New outfit?" I question.

She's wearing a blue skirt slightly longer than what she used to wear, and a light green tank top with a little light blue jacket that only went halfway down her back, and the black boots she'd asked me to help her put on went halfway up her calf.

"Yeah," she mutters. "Cake got it awhile ago, so I figured I'd wear it..."

"I see," I murmur, grabbing the other boot and repeating the actions I'd gone through with the first one, and then stepped back to look at her. I put a finger to my lips and made a face that suggested I was thinking hard about something. "Hmm..."

"What?" she demands, blushing lightly.

"I like it," I chuckle, handing her a bunny-eared headband. "Put this on." She nods and does, pushing her hair over her shoulders. "Now you're ready for whenever Cake comes home."

"Knowing her, she'll either take a while, or she'll be here any minute."

"True." I float around the room, my hands folded behind my head.

She sits on her bed and sighs heavily before flopping back. "Whatcha wanna do until she gets here?"

"I don't know," I tell her.

We sit (well, she sits, I kind of just float around the room some more) in silence, but thankfully it's not awkward. She eventually gets up and puts her hair in a simple ponytail before putting her headband on her head again, and heads downstairs.

I follow her, and she goes in the kitchen to find something to eat, and brings me some strawberries. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do with Cake. I mean, sure, this wound is sensitive, but it's not like I can't do stuff myself." She steals one of my strawberries and eats it. "I can actually do stuff. She just won't let me."

I ponder this for a minute. "Well, you can't put your own shoes on..."

She punches my shoulder lightly. "Not funny, Marsh," she says with a chuckle.

I laugh with her. "Actually, it is."

"I'm just glad you actually helped me instead of just standing there."

"I couldn't do that to a friend."

Me and Fi sit around the house, just talking about stuff that's going on and what she's gonna do when she's completely healed. She says she's going to go out and just slay a bunch of monsters, and when I think of putting myself in her place, I decide I would want to kill something as well. I can't imagine being locked in your own house with only an overprotective cat for company.

She also said she was really glad I was around here, that I kept her from going insane, and I admit, I really liked that comment. It was nice to know she truly enjoyed my company.

I get up a little while later and get her something sweet to eat, since Cake's not here to stop me. I bring back some strawberry ice cream (and yeah, I stole a few strawberries from it, but it's not like Fi cares) and she smiles sweetly, thanking me. She starts to eat it, only stopping when she gets a brain freeze. I can't help but laugh, and she toughs it out like the heroine she is.

After she's done eating her ice cream, I decide to put on a movie. I grab the first one I see, not paying attention to what it's called, and give it to BMO. He plays it, and Fi curls up by my side to watch it, completely content. I smirk and pay attention to her more than the movie. All I know is that there's plenty of monsters that are being slayed.

When the sun decides to make its move on me, I slip my arm from around Fi's shoulders and float above her instead. She grins at me before going back to the movie, and I'm just glad she's feeling more like her old self.

When the movie ends, she stretches again and stands up carefully, not exactly unbalanced, but not steady, either. She keeps herself entertained by walking around the room, and when her legs are nice and stretched so she doesn't feel stiff anymore, she sits back down on the couch. "Whatcha wanna do?" I ask her.

"We should make a pillow fort, dude."

So we do.

I bring all the pillows I can find from upstairs, and go to her attic to find even more. Eventually, after finding all the pillows I can, I move the couch and chairs out of the way so she'll have room to do whatever.

She gleefully starts on the base of the fort, and I help her. A little bit later, we have a tower, and a huge room with a roof and everything. I move one of the chairs inside and Fi sits, a blanket tied around her neck like a cape.

"The queen declares that there will be more strawberries in the kingdom," she says in a royal tone, before breaking into a fit of giggles. I grab an extra pillow and sit to her right, back straight like I'm watching over a group in the ballroom.

"We shall have more extreme fights with monsters, this kingdom is far too formal," I declare.

Fionna nods in agreeance with me. "Indeed! A formal kingdom is not mathematical! Where's all the fun?"

I laugh, and she folds over in her chair, laughing as well.

"Oh my Glob, we have to do this more often," she manages between giggles.

"Let's just hope Cake doesn't come home and yell at us," I say, a sly smile on my face as I float out of the pillow room and to the outside. Whistling casually, I knock a pillow out of the wall and the whole structure collapses, a tiny shriek of indignation coming from Fionna before her blonde head pops out of a huge pile of pillows, looking mad. She turns around until she sees me, her face red, and suddenly, she bursts out laughing, her face turning pink and back to red again because she laughed for so long.

"Oh my glob dude!" she sputters.

I laugh, and start to pick up the pillows, leaving about twelve of them downstairs, returning the others to where I found them. When I come back downstairs, a pillow is chucked into my face, and when it falls, a mask of false shock is there.

Fionna is curled up on the couch, sitting backwards and laughing so hard she falls over.

"Oh, so you wanna have a pillow fight?" I ask.

Her eyes go wide, and then she smirks at the challenge. "You're on, dude."

An hour later found us on the floor of the living room, panting with feathers all over the living room.

Cake was going to kill us.

But we decided that was fine, and we cleaned up so she wouldn't get as mad. I helped Fi get some feathers out of her hair, since they seemed to think that was their home, and she did the same for me.

Cake came home a little while later, and with her in our group, we set out for the Candy Kingdom. Cake didn't seem so happy about going there, since Gumball was likely to be there. She was somewhat surprised that he hadn't tried to come into contact with them, but after stabbing someone, why would they try? It was weird for Gumball to have stabbed anyone in the first place. He's so soft, he normally wouldn't even hurt a fly. Something wasn't right.

Either way, we were still on our way to the Candy Kingdom, and for once, it wasn't for a meeting with Gumball.

"Almost there," Cake tells us.

Fi looked kind of excited, but her eyes had a dark shadow in them, which I assumed was directed at the stupid Candy Prince himself. "I wonder if FP is here," she wonders aloud.

"Well, judging by the expression he had when we left last time, I would guess he'd be waiting for you no matter where you are," I chuckled, though I didn't like the idea of him trying to get friendly with Fi. The guy's obviously got a crush on her.

Her cheeks lit up, and I was somewhat glad that Cake had decided to carry her, otherwise she would've punched me. (Hey, don't look at me like that, she can pack a punch in those tiny fists of hers.)

The walls of the Candy Kingdom come into view, and we slow down a little bit. When we get to the gate, Fi hops off Cake, who complains and demands for her to get back on her back, and walks towards the market. She tells Cake to go find Mochro, and after a small argument, she does.

"Nice, Fi," I comment, twirling my umbrella a little bit.

"What?"

"The way you just demanded Cake to go away," I chuckle.

"Yeah, I know. She won't go away unless I do stuff like that," she mutters.

"She's just worried about you. Looking for anything in particular?" I ask, changing the subject.

"No, not really. Just keeping myself occupied until I see FP."

"I'll keep an eye open for you," I tell her.

"Thanks, Marsh," she says before running off into the market, leaving me to float off after her.

She looked around for a little bit while I flew higher, looking for signs of Flame Prince. It was probably the middle of the afternoon when out of the corner of my eye, I saw a progressively growing light, and sure enough, it was Flame Prince standing by the gates of the kingdom.

I fly down and grab Fi by the arms, earning a shriek as protest. "What are you doing?!" she demands, and I chuckle.

"Taking you to your boyfriend."

"Marshall Lee, he is not my boyfriend!" she yells.

"Suuuuure he isn't, and I'm not a vampire," I laugh.

We land near Flame Prince, and I see his eyes narrow from here, jealousy flashing through his gaze.

Good.

I put Fi down and float around her, holding my umbrella in one hand.

"Hi, FP," Fionna greets.

"Hello, Fionna. It is great to see you again."

"Sorry I wasn't here like I promised. I had some..." she pauses and looks back at me, "...other stuff to take care of."

Flame Prince's eyes flash back to me as well before refocusing on Fi, and I can't help but chuckle. "I am glad to see you are well, Fionna," he murmurs. "Shall we go around?"

"Sure," Fi says.

"Great!" he replies with a huge smile.

They start walking off, and I float lazily behind them. Flame Prince slows down and hisses in my ear, low enough for Fi not to hear, "She will be mine."

I snort. "She's not some prize to be won, you idiot. She's a person and she has feelings. If you want to be with her, perhaps you should remember that and treat her as such." I float up to Fi and idly chat with her, asking how she's feeling and what she'd seen so far in the day, and I can feel Flame Prince heat up angrily behind me. I laugh inwardly, letting a smirk grace my lips as I continue chatting with Fi.

I lean down to whisper in her ear, "Are you taking him to see Gumbutt?"

She looks up at me. "If he wants to go see him, I will have to go with him. I can't have him exploding in the Candy Kingdom. I'll have to tell him later," she whispers back tonelessly.

Apparently, Flame Prince decided it was time to get attention again, because he walks quickly to catch up to us and stands next to Fi. "What all will we be looking at, Fionna?" he asks.

"Whatever you want. You can see how the citizens live here, and other such things. I can show you more tomorrow, if you like."

He smiles widely. "That would be lovely, Fionna."

She smiles back, albeit it was forced, "I look forward to it."

We continue walking to the middle of town, where the Candy people are running around, laughing and smiling nonstop. The children are playing games in the middle of the street and causing trouble like always. Some Candy people are heading home after a long day, and others are just coming out. There are couples walking around, holding hands, and some are sitting on benches, snuggling. Me and Fi both roll our eyes at them, but Flame Prince seems to warms up at the sight.

Near sunset, after walking around for a bit and showing Flame Prince the kingdom, Fi turns to him. "Is there anything else you'd like to see tonight?"

"If it's not too late, do you think I could meet the Candy Prince?"

Fionna blinks a few times. "I can show you where he lives, and you can go talk to him if you like," she replies.

Flame Prince nods. "Okay, sounds good to me."

I follow behind them as Fi leads Flame Prince to Gumbutt's castle. When we get there, she stops at the bottom of the steps as Flame Prince continues walking up, only to pause when he notices she wasn't following him. "Fionna?"

"Yes?"

"Are you coming?"

She pauses, and starts up the stairs after him, me floating behind her. "Yeah, I'm coming."

"You don't have to go, Fi," I whisper.

"Yeah, I do. FP will think it's weird if I don't go. I mean, last time I saw him, me and Prince Gumball were best friends," she murmurs. I didn't miss the formality.

"Just stay here. I'll go with him."

She looks at me, and sighs. "Okay, fine. I'll wait here."

"Good. If anyone asks, you weren't feeling well. Just look sick and look for Cake," I tell her.

She nods, and I follow after Flame Prince. We get to the top of the stairs and he notices Fi isn't with us.

"Where'd she go?" he asks.

"She wasn't feeling well and went to look for Cake," I tell him.

"How is cake going to make her feel better?" he wonders aloud. I decide to leave him uninformed.

"Cake always makes her feel better."

I love clueless people.

"Well then," he murmurs. "Shall we?"

"Sure," I say, kicking open Gumball's doors lazily. Flame Prince looks at me weird, and I smirk. "Problem?"

"Why didn't you just knock?"

"Knocking is for chumps," I state, sauntering into Gumball's home.

"What?" he mutters under his breath, while I continue floating around, looking for Gumbutt.

Peppermint Maid comes running, demanding to know what I think I'm doing.

"Well, clearly, I'm looking for a certain stupid pink prince," I tell her.

"And who's that?" she demands.

"Flame Prince," he tells her. "Nice to meet you."

She turns back to me. "You can't just barge in here any time you want, Marshall Lee!"

"Well, after what Gumbutt's done, I think I can," I hiss, floating past her and heading towards his lab.

Flame Prince follows me uncertainly, and I barge into Gumbutt's lab, flinging the door back so it leaves a crack in the wall. Gumball doesn't even look up from whatever he's doing. "What is it, Marshall? I'm kind of busy here."

"You know I don't care. I brought the Prince of the Flame Kingdom. He wishes to speak with you," I sneer.

Gumbutt looks up at that. "Oh, did you?" he looks over at Flame Prince. "So you did."

"This is the dude that's been lighting up your kingdom. He wanted to talk to you about how it was a big misunderstanding and everything."

Gumbutt looks at him. "I see. Will that be all?"

I float back to the door. "Pretty much," I say, walking out and leaving Gumbutt with his new friend.

I go back out the doors we came in earlier and float up towards the sky, looking for Fi. I found her next to a huge mass of fur, which could only be Cake. "Don't worry, I ditched them," I say when I'm almost on the ground.

Fi rolls her eyes and smiles. "Thanks, Marsh," she says, turning to Cake. "Let's go home."

Cake nods, and lets Fionna get on her back. We take off for their treehouse, and when we get to the wall of the kingdom, I turn around, seeing Flame Prince glowing brightly in anger.

I can't help but smirk and head after Fionna and Cake.

* * *

**A/N: OH MY GLOB YOU GUYS I AM SOOOOO SORRY! D: This is the biggest case of writer's block I've ever had, and I was having serious problems with this chapter, and I tried to start chapter 7 but my brain hurts and I can't think of anything. D: I will start working on it and post it when I can, but until then, I apologize for the delays! :c**


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